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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: fine · march · bat · wound · prune · fall · nail · mouse

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fall — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — to trim
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wound — an injury

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