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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 124 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — temperature
  3. race — humankind
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. race — the arms race
  6. sharp — clever
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. race — a contest
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — from a university
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — to trim

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