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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 116 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. file — a tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bat — the animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — in a road
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kid — child
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bat — in an idiom

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