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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. roll — a list
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. staff — employees
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bulb — for light
  19. staff — employees
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. clip — for paper
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. roll — on a roll

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