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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — wild animals
  4. file — a document
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a tool
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. game — a match
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. file — a line of people
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug

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