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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. hand — help
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — a contest
  14. degree — an amount
  15. race — humankind
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hand — in cards
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. trunk — of a tree

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