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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. game — wild animals
  7. lie — to recline
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cell — a phone
  21. branch — a division
  22. cell — in biology
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. branch — of a tree

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