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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rush — hurry
  3. land — a country
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spell — a short time
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. spell — magic
  10. degree — from a university
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chip — to eat
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. spell — letters
  20. chip — for betting
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. chip — in a computer

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