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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — for sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pop — to visit
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — to crush
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. prune — to trim
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. prune — to trim
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. present — the time now
  24. field — a subject

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