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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: pitch · prune · degree · foot · land · current · wave · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — the arms race
  3. prune — to trim
  4. land — ground
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. current — happening now
  9. degree — an amount
  10. current — of water
  11. pitch — completely
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. current — electric
  15. land — to come down
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. race — a contest
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — a country
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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