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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: land · pit · lean · last · bark · race · straw · prune

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. land — ground
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. race — a contest
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. land — a country
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. last — finally
  17. land — to come down
  18. race — the arms race
  19. last — to go on
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. last — final
  24. prune — to trim

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