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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: prune · spring · pass · tube · race · wound · nail · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — a container
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — humankind
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spring — the season
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. race — a contest
  19. spring — of water
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wound — an injury

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