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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fall — the season
  3. roll — a cake
  4. prune — to trim
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fall — to drop
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. deal — to handle
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — temperature
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. race — humankind
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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