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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bound — certain
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bound — tied together
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. shower — rain
  14. bulb — for light
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bound — obliged
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. bulb — for light

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