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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: pit · calf · bat · wake · prune · cell · court · bass

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. court — for sport
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. court — of law
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bat — for baseball

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