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

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. degree — from a university
  3. prune — to trim
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. craft — boats
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. craft — a skill
  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