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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. plane — a tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. degree — temperature
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. squash — to crush
  13. rule — government
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rule — a law
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. plane — an aircraft

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