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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. lash — an eyelash
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. race — humankind
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pitch — completely
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. race — a contest
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. degree — from a university
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. fan — a supporter
  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