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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. current — happening now
  3. race — a contest
  4. spring — a coil
  5. rash — a series
  6. prune — to trim
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. degree — an amount
  10. sharp — clever
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. season — of the year
  15. degree — temperature
  16. current — electric
  17. spring — of water
  18. degree — from a university
  19. race — humankind
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — the season
  22. current — of water
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. race — the arms race

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