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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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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: foot · prune · saw · leaves · bear · hide · degree · bowl

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. degree — an amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — temperature
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. saw — the tool
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. saw — the tool
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bear — to put up with

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