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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. race — a contest
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mark — a grade
  7. race — humankind
  8. degree — temperature
  9. court — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. degree — an amount
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mark — a trace
  17. court — of a king
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. court — of law
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lie — to recline
  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