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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. race — humankind
  10. rush — hurry
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mate — to breed
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mate — a friend
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mate — a partner
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. prune — to trim
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — from a university

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