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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: leaves · kid · net · degree · prune · tear · current · bound

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bound — obliged
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bound — tied together
  7. kid — child
  8. net — for catching
  9. prune — to trim
  10. current — electric
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bound — certain
  13. net — after costs
  14. degree — from a university
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. kid — to tease
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — happening now
  20. net — in sport
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. tear — from crying
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. current — of water

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