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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 116 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 · stick · clip · prune · bowl · rock · kick · degree

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. kick — in football
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. degree — temperature
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — from a university
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. rock — a stone
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rock — music
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. degree — an amount

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