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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — child
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — from a university
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. track — a path
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — temperature

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