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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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