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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. present — a gift
  5. degree — an amount
  6. key — in music
  7. court — for sport
  8. present — the time now
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bear — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. squash — to crush
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bat — the animal
  19. court — of law
  20. key — the most important part
  21. present — there
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. squash — the sport

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