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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: net · file · mate · degree · prune · leaves · cell · present

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. present — there
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. present — the time now
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mate — to breed
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. net — in sport
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. file — a document
  18. net — for catching
  19. degree — an amount
  20. net — after costs
  21. file — a tool
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. file — a line of people
  24. present — a gift

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