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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pass — a permit
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. content — the amount
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. degree — from a university
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. degree — temperature
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chest — a box
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — child
  24. safe — out of danger

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