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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: mug · wave · prune · race · bat · lean · field · cap

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — the arms race
  5. lean — thin
  6. cap — of ice
  7. race — a contest
  8. prune — to trim
  9. field — farmland
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. mug — a face
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. field — a subject
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a cup
  22. field — for sport
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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