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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — temperature
  3. scale — size or range
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — in music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. degree — from a university
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bark — to shout
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — of a king
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. court — for sport

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