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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: foot · scale · present · patient · degree · cold · prune · spell

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cold — an illness
  5. scale — in music
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. scale — size or range
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — an amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spell — a short time
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. present — the time now
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — magic
  20. present — a gift
  21. foot — a measure
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spell — letters

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