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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. degree — temperature
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. hand — in cards
  7. tube — the underground
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. spell — magic
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. object — an aim
  12. tube — a container
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — a thing
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spell — letters
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. spell — a short time
  21. hand — help
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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