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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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468
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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — to trim
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — part of the head
  14. degree — an amount
  15. face — to confront
  16. kick — in football
  17. face — to point toward
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. wind — moving air
  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