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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wake — a trail
  17. branch — a division
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. root — of a word
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. branch — of a bank

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