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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. track — a song
  7. prune — to trim
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bound — obliged
  11. can — a tin
  12. scale — size or range
  13. can — a tin
  14. staff — employees
  15. can — to be able to
  16. scale — in music
  17. bound — certain
  18. track — a path
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bound — tied together
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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