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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ground — the earth
  4. hand — help
  5. ground — a position
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ground — crushed
  8. toast — bread
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. hand — in cards
  16. degree — an amount
  17. branch — a division
  18. clip — a video
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — for paper

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