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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. court — for sport
  4. cap — a lid
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rock — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rock — a stone
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. court — of law
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cap — a hat
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. court — of a king
  22. fork — in a road
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cap — of ice

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