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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. degree — from a university
  3. land — to come down
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. degree — temperature
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. swing — in golf
  12. scale — size or range
  13. land — a country
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. land — ground
  21. degree — an amount
  22. scale — in music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. jam — a tight spot

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