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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. hand — help
  15. kid — child
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. kid — to tease
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chip — to eat
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pitch — completely

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