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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · prune · roll · leaves · race · bound · kid · track

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bound — obliged
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a song
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bound — tied together
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. race — a contest
  9. track — to keep track
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. kid — child
  14. roll — a list
  15. track — a path
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. prune — to trim
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — an amount
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bound — certain
  24. roll — a cake

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