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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · last · prune · toast · mark · cell · staff · game

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — an amount
  4. staff — a stick
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. degree — from a university
  8. game — a match
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mark — a grade
  11. staff — employees
  12. cell — a phone
  13. last — to go on
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. degree — temperature
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. last — final
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mark — a trace
  20. last — finally
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cell — in biology
  24. staff — employees

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