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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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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: prune · degree · chair · cell · date · mark · cue · bear

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — a phone
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — the animal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cue — for pool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cue — a hint
  18. mark — a trace
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chair — a leader
  22. date — the fruit
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bear — the animal

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