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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. clip — a video
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. clip — to cut
  16. deal — to handle
  17. hand — help
  18. prune — to trim
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. deal — a big deal

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