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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — from a university
  3. prune — to trim
  4. scale — size or range
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. degree — temperature
  9. toast — bread
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. scale — in music
  22. sharp — clever
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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