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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. fall — the season
  2. object — an aim
  3. club — a group
  4. object — to protest
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. fall — to drop
  8. prune — to trim
  9. race — a contest
  10. pound — a weight
  11. club — for golf
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. club — for dancing
  14. race — humankind
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — an amount
  17. key — the most important part
  18. degree — from a university
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. object — a thing
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — temperature
  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