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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — an amount
  7. root — the cause
  8. prune — to trim
  9. root — of a plant
  10. branch — a division
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — in cards
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hand — help
  19. root — of a word
  20. rash — hasty
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. tear — to rip

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