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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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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: pass · rash · race · bat · mug · court · prune · tear

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of law
  6. pass — a permit
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a cup
  9. court — of a king
  10. mug — a face
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. race — a contest
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rash — a series
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. tear — to rip
  22. court — for sport
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — the fruit

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