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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. root — of a word
  6. prune — to trim
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. degree — temperature
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. scale — in music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bat — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. scale — size or range
  18. root — the cause
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. date — the fruit
  22. root — of a plant
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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