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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — thin
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. saw — the tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fan — to cool the air

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