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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. drill — the tool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spell — a short time
  11. land — a country
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. prune — to trim
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rush — hurry
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. spring — of water
  24. degree — an amount

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