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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — the amount
  4. drill — a practice
  5. degree — from a university
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stem — to come from
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. drill — army training
  16. capital — a city
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. capital — money
  21. drill — the tool
  22. file — a document
  23. degree — temperature
  24. file — a tool

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