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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: last · prune · hand · mouse · spring · pitcher · root · fan

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. last — final
  3. root — the cause
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. spring — of water
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — help
  15. root — of a plant
  16. last — finally
  17. spring — the season
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. last — to go on
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spring — a coil
  23. root — of a word
  24. prune — the fruit

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