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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — a publisher
  5. roll — a cake
  6. wake — a trail
  7. degree — an amount
  8. prune — to trim
  9. roll — a list
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. press — to push
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — newspapers
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. branch — of a tree

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