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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. current — of water
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. court — of a king
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. court — of law
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — for sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. degree — an amount
  15. current — electric
  16. hand — in cards
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — temperature
  21. current — happening now
  22. hand — help
  23. tear — to rip
  24. prune — to trim

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