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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cue — a signal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cell — a phone
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cue — for pool

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