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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 116 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. degree — from a university
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. object — a thing
  5. dip — to sink
  6. rule — a law
  7. saw — the tool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — an amount
  11. object — to protest
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. race — a contest
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. saw — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. race — humankind
  24. degree — temperature

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