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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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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: cold · craft · ground · degree · arm · prune · firm · mouse

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. degree — temperature
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ground — the earth
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ground — a position
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — crushed
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. firm — a company
  18. prune — to trim
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mouse — the animal

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