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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. firm — a company
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. kick — in football
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. firm — steady
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. firm — decided
  17. degree — temperature
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. lean — thin
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lean — to bend
  24. trunk — of a tree

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