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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. kid — child
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. staff — employees
  8. race — humankind
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — size or range
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kid — to tease
  14. drill — a practice
  15. scale — in music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. staff — a stick
  20. drill — the tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. staff — employees
  23. fall — the season
  24. drill — army training

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