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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. pound — a weight
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. press — newspapers
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. prune — to trim
  15. press — to push
  16. court — of law
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. race — a contest
  19. press — a publisher
  20. court — for sport
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. court — of a king
  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