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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. degree — from a university
  3. club — a group
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. club — for golf
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chest — a box
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. club — for dancing
  19. degree — an amount
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — child
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — temperature

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