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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. clip — a video
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. content — happy
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. degree — temperature
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ball — a dance
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. branch — a division
  22. degree — an amount
  23. content — the amount
  24. ball — a round shape

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