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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · chair · prune · mark · ground · degree · wound · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mark — a trace
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. ground — a position
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. toast — bread
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chair — a leader
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com