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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. race — the arms race
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mark — a trace
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — humankind
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kid — child
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. prune — to trim

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