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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wax — to grow
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. kid — to tease
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — to come from

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