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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: snap · sharp · degree · date · lean · saw · prune · bass

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. degree — from a university
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. lean — thin
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. saw — the tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. date — the fruit
  19. sharp — clever
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. degree — temperature
  24. prune — to trim

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