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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — to tease
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. race — the arms race
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. kid — child
  12. swing — music
  13. season — in sport
  14. swing — in golf
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. prune — to trim
  19. saw — the tool
  20. race — humankind
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. degree — an amount
  24. season — of the year

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