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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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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 · file · court · current · bay · fan · prune · shower

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. court — of law
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. shower — rain
  8. file — a document
  9. shower — to wash
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a line of people
  14. court — of a king
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. current — happening now
  17. file — a tool
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. court — for sport
  22. current — of water
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. current — electric

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