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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: wound · fall · prune · net · snap · scale · degree · object

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. object — a thing
  4. scale — in music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to click
  7. object — to protest
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fall — the season
  12. scale — size or range
  13. net — for catching
  14. object — an aim
  15. degree — temperature
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. degree — from a university

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