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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — from a university
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. prune — to trim
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bound — certain
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bound — tied together
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bound — obliged
  20. content — happy
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rush — to hurry

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