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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: prune · ground · pitcher · bass · cabinet · cold · charge · mouse

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. bass — the fish
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. prune — to trim
  8. charge — electricity
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. charge — in control
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. charge — a price
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bass — low music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ground — crushed

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