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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: content · prune · degree · cue · wound · file · drill · bay

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — to trim
  4. drill — army training
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cue — a hint
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. drill — the tool
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a tool
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — to trim
  19. content — the amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cue — for pool

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