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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. race — humankind
  8. face — part of the head
  9. degree — temperature
  10. prune — to trim
  11. face — to point toward
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. face — to confront
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. prune — to trim
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. craft — boats
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wound — an injury
  24. craft — a handicraft

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