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

Word bank: race · row · degree · fork · object · lean

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. degree — temperature
  4. object — an aim
  5. lean — thin
  6. object — a thing
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. row — a line
  11. object — to protest
  12. race — humankind
  13. fork — in a road
  14. race — a contest
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lean — to bend

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