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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — humankind
  8. rush — hurry
  9. track — a path
  10. prune — to trim
  11. deal — to handle
  12. season — in sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cell — in biology
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cell — a phone
  23. race — a contest
  24. chair — to sit on

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