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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. spring — of water
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. spring — a coil
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — the season
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. game — wild animals
  13. race — humankind
  14. game — a match
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. leaves — lets stay

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