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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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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: race · chest · bear · straw · can · pop · prune · mark

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bear — the animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. can — to be able to
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. can — a tin
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mark — a trace
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pop — music
  18. chest — a box
  19. pop — soda
  20. race — the arms race
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pop — to visit
  23. race — humankind
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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