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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 120 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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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: rash · cap · chest · stick · degree · pass · row · prune

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a hat
  4. chest — a box
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pass — a permit
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. rash — a series
  14. degree — an amount
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rash — hasty
  19. degree — temperature
  20. prune — to trim
  21. row — a line
  22. chest — of your body
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pass — to succeed

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