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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: wave · ground · tear · prune · bowl · bound · pit · race

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pit — in a race
  11. prune — to trim
  12. race — a contest
  13. bound — tied together
  14. ground — a position
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. race — humankind
  24. tear — to rip

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