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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — child
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mark — a grade
  5. race — humankind
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. foot — a measure
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — an illness
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. race — a contest

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