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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. degree — temperature
  3. prune — to trim
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — to wash
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. squash — the sport
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. squash — to crush
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. shower — rain
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit

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