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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — temperature
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — finally
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. ground — the earth
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. degree — from a university
  14. prune — to trim
  15. firm — decided
  16. court — of law
  17. degree — an amount
  18. snap — to click
  19. firm — steady
  20. last — to go on
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. ground — a position
  23. last — final
  24. wave — of the sea

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