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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 116 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bound — certain
  9. field — for sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fork — in a road
  20. field — a subject
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — farmland
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bound — obliged

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