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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tube — the underground
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. clip — for paper
  20. degree — temperature
  21. clip — a video
  22. sharp — clever
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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