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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the sport
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a hole
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. degree — an amount
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. sharp — clever
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tube — the underground

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