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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cell — a phone
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cue — a signal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cue — a hint
  16. race — a contest
  17. degree — an amount
  18. sharp — clever
  19. squash — the sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. race — humankind
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bulb — for light

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