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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. last — finally
  5. pitch — completely
  6. file — a line of people
  7. degree — an amount
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. degree — from a university
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — clever
  12. last — to go on
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. file — a tool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pass — a permit
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. branch — a division
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — final
  24. pitch — a sports field

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