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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · mouse · court · file · bat · cold · staff · object

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. file — a document
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. file — a tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — the animal
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. object — a thing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — of a king
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of law
  20. object — to protest
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. staff — a stick
  23. court — for sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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