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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: ball · rush · safe · wound · degree · club · mark · prune

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — from a university
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — a trace
  9. ball — a dance
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — temperature
  16. club — for golf
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. rush — hurry
  20. club — a group
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — an amount
  24. club — for dancing

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