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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spring — of water
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. cell — a phone
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. mine — for digging
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. prune — to trim

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