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

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. race — a contest
  4. suit — in cards
  5. date — the fruit
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. swing — to play on
  8. race — humankind
  9. swing — in golf
  10. prune — to trim
  11. suit — to fit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. race — the arms race
  14. season — in sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spell — magic
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. suit — clothes
  20. spell — letters
  21. season — of the year
  22. spell — a short time
  23. swing — music
  24. kid — child

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