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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spell — magic
  7. bark — to shout
  8. game — a match
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. degree — temperature
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. prune — to trim
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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