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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. staff — a stick
  5. degree — from a university
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. net — for catching
  18. ball — a dance
  19. sharp — clever
  20. net — in sport
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rock — music
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — after costs

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