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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: kid · wax · race · key · stick · hand · prune · wind

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. hand — help
  3. key — in music
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. key — the most important part
  6. race — a contest
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. kid — child
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wind — moving air
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. kid — to tease
  18. race — humankind
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wax — to grow
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wind — moving air

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