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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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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: tear · branch · degree · plane · pit · prune · stick · foot

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. tear — from crying
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. degree — temperature
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — from a university
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — an amount
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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