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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. branch — a division
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. degree — temperature
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. swing — to play on
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. swing — music

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