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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — to trim
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wax — to grow
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rest — a break
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. branch — a division
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kick — in football

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