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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. suit — clothes
  4. prune — to trim
  5. scale — in music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. prune — to trim
  10. race — humankind
  11. bat — the animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — the arms race
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — to fit
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — size or range
  19. row — to paddle
  20. foot — a measure
  21. race — a contest
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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