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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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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: season · rock · pit · race · saw · degree · row · fork

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. row — a line
  6. saw — the tool
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. race — a contest
  9. rock — music
  10. race — humankind
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. season — in sport
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fork — in a road
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. row — to paddle
  23. race — the arms race
  24. saw — the tool

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