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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 120 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 · cabinet · nail · wake · degree · net · ground · kid

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — from a university
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. net — in sport
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. net — for catching
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kid — child
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. wake — a trail
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — crushed
  21. net — after costs
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cabinet — ministers

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