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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. race — the arms race
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pound — a weight
  5. degree — an amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. lean — to bend
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. degree — from a university
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — in cards
  18. race — a contest
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lean — thin
  21. race — humankind
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hand — help

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