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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: bay · degree · straw · fork · pound · race · roll · spring

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. roll — a cake
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spring — of water
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. race — a contest
  8. roll — a list
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. spring — the season
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. pound — a weight
  20. spring — a coil
  21. race — humankind
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fork — in a road

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