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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 120 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: fork · hide · prune · rest · straw · degree · pit · race

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rest — what's left
  3. race — a contest
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. race — humankind
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pit — a hole
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pit — in a race
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rest — a break
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. degree — temperature

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