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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cold — an illness
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. court — for sport
  6. mug — to rob
  7. stem — to come from
  8. court — of a king
  9. mug — a face
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. race — the arms race
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. race — a contest
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. race — humankind
  19. squash — to crush
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. court — of law
  23. mug — a cup
  24. cold — not warm

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