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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: ruler · key · track · bat · mug · cold · fan · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. key — the most important part
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mug — a face
  7. track — a song
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mug — to rob
  11. track — to keep track
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — not warm
  14. key — in music
  15. mug — a cup
  16. track — a path
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. key — for a lock
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cold — an illness
  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