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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: snap · kid · pitch · race · bulb · prune · roll · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitch — completely
  4. race — humankind
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bulb — for light
  7. snap — to click
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — a contest
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. race — the arms race
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kid — child
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. roll — a list

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