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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ground — the earth
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rest — a break
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. degree — from a university
  8. date — the fruit
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wake — a trail
  12. mine — for digging
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — a position
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — crushed

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