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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. march — music
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — the month
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. swing — to play on
  8. roll — a list
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. prune — to trim
  11. degree — an amount
  12. march — the month
  13. deal — to handle
  14. capital — money
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. roll — a cake
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. swing — in golf
  24. roll — on a roll

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