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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. race — the arms race
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mine — for digging
  7. root — the cause
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cell — in biology
  12. race — a contest
  13. root — of a plant
  14. race — humankind
  15. degree — temperature
  16. root — of a word
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fork — in a road
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. fork — to eat with

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