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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: pit · prune · snap · race · shower · rash · wax · racket

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. race — humankind
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. pit — in a race
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. race — the arms race
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. snap — to click
  17. rash — a series
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. race — a contest

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