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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. spell — magic
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. prune — to trim
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rash — hasty
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spell — letters
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. branch — a division
  17. rest — a break
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rash — a series
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rest — what's left
  24. degree — from a university

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