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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 116 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: prune · wind · net · degree · game · cabinet · lie · cap

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. game — wild animals
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. net — for catching
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. net — in sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cap — of ice
  16. game — a match
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cap — a hat
  23. degree — temperature
  24. net — after costs

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