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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. fork — in a road
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — to bend
  7. march — music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lean — thin
  10. degree — an amount
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. march — the month
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. clip — to cut
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. degree — from a university

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