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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 124 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — humankind
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kick — in football
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bulb — for light
  24. prune — to trim

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