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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · rule · kid · cue · racket · prune · march · shower

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — to trim
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rule — a law
  9. cue — a hint
  10. kid — to tease
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. degree — from a university
  13. march — music
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kid — child
  16. cue — a signal
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. degree — an amount
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cue — for pool
  21. shower — to wash
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rule — government
  24. racket — for tennis

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