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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: stand · bay · bat · race · kick · game · field · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — a match
  3. race — humankind
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. game — wild animals
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. stand — to bear
  14. field — a subject
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. field — for sport
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. field — farmland
  21. kick — in football
  22. bat — the animal
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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