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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bark — to shout
  6. degree — from a university
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pit — a hole
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. craft — boats
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bass — low music
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. degree — an amount
  22. kick — in football
  23. bass — the fish
  24. prune — to trim

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