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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — to trim
  5. saw — the tool
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. shower — rain
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. saw — the tool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. degree — temperature
  21. shower — to wash
  22. prune — to trim
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bass — low 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