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

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. present — the time now
  7. degree — an amount
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. present — a gift
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tear — to rip
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — temperature
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. degree — from a university

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