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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: degree · snap · pit · content · plane · prune · date · spell

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. snap — to click
  7. content — happy
  8. prune — to trim
  9. date — the fruit
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. plane — a tool
  13. spell — a short time
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pit — a hole
  22. spell — letters
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spell — magic

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