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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. lean — to bend
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lean — thin
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — to protest
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. face — to confront
  18. race — a contest
  19. degree — temperature
  20. face — part of the head
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. face — to point toward
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rush — hurry

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