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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. race — humankind
  3. fall — the season
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — after costs
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. degree — temperature
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pass — a permit
  18. lean — thin
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — a contest
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. squash — to crush
  24. lean — to rest against

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