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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — to cut
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. race — the arms race
  7. band — a ring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. craft — a skill
  10. race — humankind
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. dip — to sink
  14. prune — to trim
  15. craft — boats
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — a video
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. race — a contest
  22. band — a music group
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. dip — a sauce

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