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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. object — a thing
  4. degree — from a university
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. lean — thin
  10. plane — a tool
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. degree — temperature
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. object — to protest
  18. prune — to trim
  19. object — an aim
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cell — in biology

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