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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. swing — music
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. chip — for betting
  9. degree — temperature
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pit — a hole
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pit — in a race
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. plane — a tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chip — to eat
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. plane — an aircraft

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