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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 116 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. spring — of water
  3. rash — a series
  4. lean — to bend
  5. drill — a practice
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. rash — hasty
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lean — thin
  15. drill — army training
  16. fork — in a road
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spring — the season
  21. drill — the tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — a contest
  24. prune — the fruit

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