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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pit — in a race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pit — a hole
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. file — a tool
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. season — in sport
  21. file — a document
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a line of people
  24. degree — from a university

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