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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · mouse · cell · snap · race · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — the arms race
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. kid — child
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cell — a phone
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. snap — to click
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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