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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — of the year
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. perch — the fish
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. season — in sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. degree — from a university
  23. prune — to trim
  24. nail — for a hammer

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