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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — finally
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mug — to rob
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — final
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. scale — in music
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mug — a face
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. last — to go on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. track — a song
  19. mug — a cup
  20. scale — size or range
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — an amount

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