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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: hand · rush · bowl · kick · race · roll · prune · stem

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. roll — a cake
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. hand — in cards
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. race — humankind
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. hand — help
  17. roll — a list
  18. kick — in football
  19. race — a contest
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bowl — a dish

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