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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: mine · mouse · bat · prune · bound · pit

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bound — certain
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bound — tied together
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pit — in a race
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mouse — for a computer

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