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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. court — of law
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pit — a hole
  5. branch — a division
  6. saw — the tool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pit — in a race
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. court — of a king
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. court — for sport
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cap — of ice
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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