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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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Word bank
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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: wave · leaves · chip · court · degree · prune · hide · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. court — of law
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. degree — an amount
  14. court — of a king
  15. chip — for betting
  16. degree — temperature
  17. club — a group
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chip — to eat
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. court — for sport
  24. leaves — lets stay

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