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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: prune · cold · stick · cabinet · ball · bat · mine · roll

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. roll — a list
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — for digging
  24. ball — a dance

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