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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: bat · bulb · prune · kid · chest · drill · key · race

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. drill — army training
  3. bat — the animal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. drill — the tool
  9. key — in music
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bulb — for light
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. race — a contest
  23. kid — child
  24. key — for a lock

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