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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. track — a path
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pop — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pop — soda
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rest — a break
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a ring
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pitch — completely
  20. band — a music group
  21. degree — from a university
  22. face — to confront
  23. track — a song
  24. 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