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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — a grade
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. field — for sport
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mark — a trace
  8. field — farmland
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — a weight
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. degree — temperature
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. chair — a leader
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. tear — to rip

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