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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pit — a hole
  7. row — to paddle
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — a city
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. row — a line
  18. snap — to click
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pit — in a race
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. race — the arms race
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — of the leg

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