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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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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: prune · club · bat · leaves · bowl · kid · net · cabinet

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. net — in sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. net — after costs
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. prune — to trim
  11. club — for golf
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. net — for catching
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. club — a group
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bowl — a football final

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