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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. content — the amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — to trim
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. craft — boats
  13. pit — in a race
  14. chip — for betting
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pit — a hole
  17. staff — employees
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. staff — employees
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chip — to eat
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. degree — temperature

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