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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 · hide · race · prune · land · firm · file · cap

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. land — ground
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cap — of ice
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. land — to come down
  9. file — a line of people
  10. firm — a company
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. race — humankind
  14. firm — steady
  15. file — a document
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. race — the arms race
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. race — a contest
  20. file — a tool
  21. land — a country
  22. firm — decided
  23. bat — the animal
  24. hide — to keep secret

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