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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: prune · mark · cold · pitcher · mouse · file · wake · key

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mark — a grade
  7. prune — to trim
  8. key — for a lock
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. mark — a trace
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wake — a trail
  17. key — in music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. key — the most important part
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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