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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cue — a signal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. degree — from a university
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — for pool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. press — a publisher
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. prune — to trim
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rash — a series
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. degree — temperature
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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