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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. race — the arms race
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. field — farmland
  6. content — happy
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. race — a contest
  10. roll — a list
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — from a university
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — to crush
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — the sport
  19. content — the amount
  20. roll — a cake
  21. degree — an amount
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — a subject
  24. wake — before a funeral

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