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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — to trim
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — a thing
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chair — a leader
  19. object — to protest
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. degree — temperature
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wind — moving air

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