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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · degree · race · squash · bulb · roll · prune · date

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. roll — a cake
  6. squash — the sport
  7. roll — a list
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mine — for digging
  11. degree — an amount
  12. squash — to crush
  13. degree — from a university
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. race — humankind
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. race — a contest

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