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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: last · prune · swing · lie · race · game · safe · pound

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. last — final
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. swing — in golf
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. race — a contest
  13. swing — music
  14. last — finally
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pound — a weight
  17. game — a match
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. last — to go on
  20. game — wild animals
  21. prune — to trim
  22. race — humankind
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. race — the arms race

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