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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 ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. snap — to click
  8. bank — for money
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bank — of a river
  11. root — of a plant
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. root — of a word
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. season — of the year
  17. prune — to trim
  18. season — in sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. root — the cause
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bank — for money
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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