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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 116 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: race · bulb · object · fall · hide · prune · degree · bound

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. object — an aim
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bound — certain
  9. race — humankind
  10. bulb — for light
  11. object — to protest
  12. bound — tied together
  13. fall — to drop
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bound — obliged
  18. degree — temperature
  19. race — the arms race
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — the season
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. object — a thing

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