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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. degree — an amount
  6. content — the amount
  7. prune — to trim
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. race — a contest
  10. prune — to trim
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bear — the animal
  13. charge — a price
  14. race — humankind
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. content — happy
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. charge — in control
  20. bear — the animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. charge — electricity
  24. straw — a straw man

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