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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 · swing · lash · field · bank · track · race · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. race — a contest
  3. prune — to trim
  4. race — the arms race
  5. swing — in golf
  6. field — a subject
  7. kid — child
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bank — for money
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. swing — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. field — farmland
  14. bank — for money
  15. track — a path
  16. field — for sport
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bank — of a river
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. prune — to trim

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