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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mate — a partner
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mate — to breed
  10. prune — to trim
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. degree — an amount
  16. toast — bread
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wax — to grow
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. degree — temperature

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