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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 116 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: spring · racket · prune · mug · race · land · rule · straw

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. race — the arms race
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spring — a coil
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — of water
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — a law
  15. race — a contest
  16. land — to come down
  17. mug — a face
  18. land — a country
  19. spring — the season
  20. mug — a cup
  21. race — humankind
  22. rule — government
  23. land — ground
  24. mug — to rob

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