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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. season — of the year
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. prune — to trim
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. foot — a measure
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. present — there
  13. season — in sport
  14. key — for a lock
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. present — a gift
  17. bat — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. present — the time now
  20. degree — an amount
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. key — in music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. key — the most important part

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