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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. club — for golf
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. court — of a king
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. court — for sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. court — of law
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. degree — an amount
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rush — hurry
  24. chair — a leader

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