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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. race — humankind
  7. spring — of water
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. race — a contest
  11. pass — a permit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — an amount
  16. last — final
  17. spring — the season
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cap — a hat
  20. degree — temperature
  21. last — finally
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — the arms race

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