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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pop — soda
  11. prune — to trim
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. date — the fruit
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pop — to visit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pop — music

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