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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: wind · ruler · prune · tear · race · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. race — the arms race
  15. prune — to trim
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wind — to turn a key

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