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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 116 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: land · race · prune · bass · cell · firm · cap · bear

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bear — the animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cell — in biology
  10. land — ground
  11. firm — steady
  12. race — a contest
  13. bass — low music
  14. cap — a hat
  15. land — a country
  16. firm — a company
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cap — a lid
  20. firm — decided
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bear — the animal
  24. land — to come down

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