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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: kid · club · prune · bowl · mouse · rush · wound · dip

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. club — for golf
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kid — child
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. club — a group
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. club — for dancing

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