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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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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: race · cell · bore · prune · racket · chest

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chest — a box
  8. bore — to tire
  9. prune — to trim
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. race — humankind
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. race — a contest
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chest — of your body
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. racket — a loud noise

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