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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fork — in a road
  5. mate — a friend
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. mate — a partner
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cap — a lid
  17. degree — temperature
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cap — of ice
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. prune — to trim

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