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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: prune · date · firm · wind · key · bat · bear · race

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. key — the most important part
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. firm — decided
  8. race — a contest
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — to trim
  12. key — for a lock
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. firm — a company
  16. bear — the animal
  17. firm — steady
  18. race — humankind
  19. prune — to trim
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. key — in music

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