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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · prune · pitcher · ball · mate · rash · rest · bat

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rash — hasty
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mate — a friend
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rash — a series
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rest — a break
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rest — what's left

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