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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. spring — a coil
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. degree — an amount
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. track — a path
  11. spring — the season
  12. track — a song
  13. spring — of water
  14. craft — boats
  15. chair — a leader
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. foot — a measure
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. craft — a skill
  22. track — to keep track
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. degree — temperature

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