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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: lean · race · fall · last · prune · degree · bat · jam

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fall — the season
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. last — to go on
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lean — to bend
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — finally
  15. race — the arms race
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. race — humankind
  19. prune — to trim
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lean — thin
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — final

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