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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: ball · prune · key · bat · wound · date · can · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a great time
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. can — to be able to
  6. key — the most important part
  7. can — a tin
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. date — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cell — in biology
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bat — the animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. key — in music
  24. can — a tin

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