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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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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 · squash · chest · bowl · hand · mouse · kid · patient

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. chest — a box
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hand — help
  13. squash — to crush
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — to tease

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