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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. court — of law
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cap — a hat
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. staff — employees
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. court — of a king
  12. degree — temperature
  13. court — for sport
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. branch — a division
  23. cap — a lid
  24. branch — of a bank

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