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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: perch · wind · mate · race · bay · staff · degree · prune

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. degree — from a university
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. race — humankind
  6. mate — a friend
  7. staff — a stick
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. degree — an amount
  11. staff — employees
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. mate — to breed
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — the arms race
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. staff — employees
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. perch — the fish
  24. race — a contest

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