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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — a trail
  4. present — there
  5. degree — from a university
  6. march — music
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — a gift
  10. prune — to trim
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. march — the month
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — to trim
  19. degree — temperature
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. season — of the year
  24. prune — the fruit

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