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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: prune · bowl · cap · snap · wind · race · nail · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. race — humankind
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. can — to be able to
  6. race — a contest
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to click
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cap — a hat
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cap — of ice
  16. can — a tin
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wind — moving air
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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