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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: last · ball · stick · land · race · cap · rash · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. race — humankind
  7. last — final
  8. rash — a series
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rash — hasty
  13. prune — to trim
  14. land — a country
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — ground
  17. last — to go on
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. land — to come down
  20. cap — a hat
  21. ball — a great time
  22. last — finally
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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