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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 120 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: race · bat · prune · kid · rock · bowl · bay · clip

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — child
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rock — music
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rock — a stone
  17. clip — to cut
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. clip — a video
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — to roll

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