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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: chair · season · pound · prune · wax · pitch · dip · degree

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chair — a leader
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pitch — completely
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. season — in sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. chair — to sit on

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