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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. degree — an amount
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stand — to bear
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to sink
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. leaves — to go away

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