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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — government
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — a law
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. prune — to trim
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ball — a dance
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. swing — music
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. season — of the year
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. season — in sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. degree — an amount
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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