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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stem — to come from
  3. staff — employees
  4. date — the fruit
  5. pit — a hole
  6. prune — to trim
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pit — in a race
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — a stick
  12. ground — crushed
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. saw — the tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. staff — employees
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. ground — a position

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