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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mug — a face
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. field — for sport
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ball — a dance
  10. field — a subject
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. field — farmland
  15. pop — to visit
  16. shower — to wash
  17. mug — to rob
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. shower — rain
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. mug — a cup
  24. ball — a great time

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