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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. content — the amount
  6. cue — a hint
  7. lean — thin
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wax — to grow
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cue — for pool
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cue — a signal
  22. mark — a grade
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — lets stay

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