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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — steady
  4. race — a contest
  5. degree — an amount
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. band — a ring
  10. firm — a company
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. toast — bread
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. prune — to trim
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. clip — for paper
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. degree — from a university
  21. clip — a video
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — temperature

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