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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. swing — to play on
  3. race — a contest
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — to tease
  8. race — humankind
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. race — the arms race
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lie — to recline
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. spring — of water
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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