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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. race — humankind
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. court — of a king
  9. deal — to handle
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. court — of law
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. object — a thing
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kick — in football
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. object — an aim

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