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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. kid — to tease
  3. spring — of water
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. spring — a coil
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. race — a contest
  11. kid — child
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. race — humankind
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bore — to tire
  16. plane — a tool
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bore — to drill
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. track — a path
  22. race — the arms race
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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