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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: can · kick · tear · race · prune · squash · ground · row

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. race — humankind
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — to paddle
  13. can — a tin
  14. kick — in football
  15. can — to be able to
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. can — a tin
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. row — a line
  21. race — a contest
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ground — the earth
  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