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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: court · snap · dip · wound · prune · scale · craft · degree

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. prune — to trim
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to click
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. court — of law
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. craft — boats
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wound — an injury
  17. scale — size or range
  18. dip — to sink
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. court — for sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — in music
  24. craft — a skill

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