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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: mark · calf · prune · degree · mug · band · lean · last

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mug — a face
  3. last — finally
  4. mark — a trace
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mug — to rob
  10. degree — temperature
  11. last — to go on
  12. band — a ring
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — final
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lean — to bend
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mug — a cup
  20. degree — from a university
  21. lean — thin
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a music group
  24. prune — the fruit

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