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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — a video
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — for paper
  11. field — for sport
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — a short time
  14. clip — to cut
  15. field — farmland
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spell — letters
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. degree — from a university
  21. staff — employees
  22. spell — magic
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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