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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 116 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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Word bank
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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 · wave · cell · game · race · wind

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — humankind
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a match
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. race — a contest
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. race — the arms race

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