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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — from a university
  6. march — the month
  7. object — an aim
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. object — a thing
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. march — music
  12. snap — to click
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. degree — temperature
  18. roll — a cake
  19. degree — an amount
  20. object — to protest
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. roll — a list
  23. prune — to trim
  24. march — the month

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