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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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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: rule · race · game · sharp · stem · can · fan · prune

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. race — a contest
  3. game — a match
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. sharp — clever
  10. rule — government
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. can — a tin
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. can — to be able to
  17. prune — to trim
  18. can — a tin
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. game — wild animals
  24. prune — to trim

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