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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. mate — a partner
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mate — to breed
  20. degree — an amount
  21. prune — to trim
  22. band — a music group
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. band — a ring

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