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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. fine — all right
  3. content — happy
  4. fine — high quality
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mate — a friend
  7. degree — an amount
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bass — the fish
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mate — a partner
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. degree — from a university
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. key — in music
  18. content — the amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mate — to breed
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bass — low music
  23. content — videos and posts
  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