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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rest — a break
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rest — what's left
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — an amount
  18. plane — a tool
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bass — low music
  22. content — the amount
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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