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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spring — of water
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bound — tied together
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. degree — from a university
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bound — obliged
  12. track — a song
  13. bound — certain
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. spring — a coil
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — the season
  18. track — to keep track
  19. degree — an amount
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. track — a path
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. prune — the fruit

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