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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 116 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 best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. drill — army training
  6. race — a contest
  7. prune — to trim
  8. court — of law
  9. degree — temperature
  10. drill — the tool
  11. degree — an amount
  12. court — for sport
  13. cap — of ice
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. court — of a king
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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