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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. degree — temperature
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. swing — to play on
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rest — what's left
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rest — what's left
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fork — in a road
  11. degree — from a university
  12. plane — a tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. swing — music
  15. rest — a break
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kid — child

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