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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: rest · band · staff · hand · leaves · charge · prune · degree

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. staff — employees
  6. rest — a break
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. rest — what's left
  10. band — a ring
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. charge — in control
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hand — help
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. rest — what's left
  19. staff — a stick
  20. hand — in cards
  21. degree — an amount
  22. band — a music group
  23. charge — a price
  24. charge — electricity

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