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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: coach · band · shower · net · prune · degree · staff · mark

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. degree — temperature
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mark — a grade
  5. degree — an amount
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. staff — employees
  8. shower — to wash
  9. band — a music group
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. shower — rain
  13. mark — a trace
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — for catching
  16. staff — employees
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. net — after costs
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — from a university
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. net — in sport

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