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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mug — to rob
  6. net — after costs
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. field — a subject
  9. drill — a practice
  10. net — for catching
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. branch — a division
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mug — a face
  17. field — for sport
  18. degree — an amount
  19. drill — army training
  20. net — in sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. mug — a cup
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. drill — the tool

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