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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. degree — from a university
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kick — in football
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mine — for digging
  24. court — for sport

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