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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: bank · degree · prune · sharp · board · race · row · bass

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. sharp — clever
  8. board — a committee
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. prune — to trim
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bank — for money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bass — low music
  21. race — the arms race
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bass — the fish
  24. board — to get on

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