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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 · squash · degree · present · coach · snap · game · club

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — for golf
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. snap — to click
  6. club — a group
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — from a university
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. degree — temperature
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. club — for dancing
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. game — a match
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. game — wild animals
  21. prune — to trim
  22. present — a gift
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. squash — to crush

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