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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 124 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bass — the fish
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — a leader
  5. root — of a plant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. tube — a container
  10. root — of a word
  11. bass — low music
  12. bound — obliged
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. root — the cause
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bound — certain
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bound — tied together

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