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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: land · pitcher · season · wound · cue · prune · temple · mouse

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a hint
  9. season — of the year
  10. land — a country
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — in sport
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wound — an injury

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