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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: deal · file · prune · bat · snap · board · stand · court

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. deal — to handle
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. board — a committee
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stand — to bear
  14. snap — to click
  15. board — to get on
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. court — of law
  20. prune — to trim
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a line of people
  24. deal — an agreement

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