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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 116 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: hide · ground · deal · mug · fan · wound · prune · degree

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mug — a cup
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ground — crushed
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mug — a face
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — from a university
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mug — to rob
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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