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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cell — in biology
  5. degree — temperature
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mate — a friend
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mate — to breed
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ruler — for measuring

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