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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cap — a lid
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. race — a contest
  10. cap — a hat
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — to go on
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to click
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. race — the arms race
  24. saw — the tool

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