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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rash — hasty
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bulb — for light
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. degree — temperature
  11. can — a tin
  12. rash — a series
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. land — a country
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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