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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 a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. track — to keep track
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mine — for digging
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — to protest
  9. file — a line of people
  10. object — an aim
  11. dip — to sink
  12. prune — to trim
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. track — a path
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. prune — to trim
  22. track — a song
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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