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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. prune — to trim
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ball — a dance
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. branch — a division
  17. ball — a great time
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. prune — the fruit

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