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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — to come from
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — happy
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. degree — an amount
  24. prune — to trim

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