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

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. saw — the tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. last — to go on
  12. race — the arms race
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — from a university
  21. last — final
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. date — on the calendar

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