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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. net — for catching
  3. root — the cause
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. degree — temperature
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kick — in football
  9. race — humankind
  10. net — in sport
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. game — wild animals
  13. race — a contest
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. root — of a plant
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. root — of a word
  21. net — after costs
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. game — a match

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