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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: pound · prune · sharp · mate · lash · race · fork · mine

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. prune — to trim
  4. race — a contest
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. race — the arms race
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mate — a friend
  21. fork — in a road
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fork — a garden 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