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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mouse · court · squash · suit · bat · fall · band · prune

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. suit — in cards
  3. court — for sport
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fall — the season
  7. band — a ring
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. band — a music group
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — the animal
  12. suit — clothes
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. suit — to fit
  15. squash — to crush
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. court — of a king
  22. fall — to drop
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. squash — the sport

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