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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: spring · prune · jam · race · kid · spell · wind · hide

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. kid — child
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — the arms race
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spell — letters
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kid — to tease
  24. spring — the season

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