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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wake — a trail
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — child
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mark — a trace
  9. cap — a lid
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mark — a grade
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. cap — a hat
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — to push
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cap — of ice
  24. press — newspapers

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