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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: bat · kid · prune · bound · cabinet · fan · object · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. kid — child
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bound — certain
  11. object — to protest
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. object — a thing
  14. bat — the animal
  15. object — an aim
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. season — in sport
  24. bound — tied together

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