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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: straw · land · board · prune · pit · race · safe · kid

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. board — a committee
  3. race — a contest
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. land — ground
  6. pit — a hole
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. race — humankind
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. land — to come down
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — to tease
  16. land — a country
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. board — to get on
  19. kid — child
  20. prune — to trim
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pit — in a race
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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