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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cue — for pool
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cue — a hint
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. race — a contest
  7. cue — a signal
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. prune — to trim
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — the season
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fall — to drop
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fall — to drop

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