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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 · vault · racket · race · tear · rest

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rest — what's left
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — a contest
  9. vault — a safe
  10. rest — what's left
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — to rip
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — a break
  18. racket — for tennis

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