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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. degree — from a university
  3. clip — to cut
  4. race — humankind
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. degree — temperature
  15. squash — the sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — a video
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. degree — an amount
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. squash — to crush
  24. safe — a strongbox

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