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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. degree — an amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — letters
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. march — the month
  10. fine — high quality
  11. march — the month
  12. date — the fruit
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — temperature
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. squash — to crush
  17. fine — all right
  18. spell — a short time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. squash — the sport
  22. degree — from a university
  23. march — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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