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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — the season
  11. wax — to grow
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. present — there
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. degree — temperature
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — from a university
  18. season — in sport
  19. deal — to handle
  20. present — the time now
  21. season — of the year
  22. present — a gift
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — to trim

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