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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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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 · cell · kid · bulb · bat · straw · fine · arm

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — child
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fine — all right
  6. kid — to tease
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. prune — to trim
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cell — in biology
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bat — in an idiom

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