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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: clip · mouse · court · bowl · prune · bat · rash · sharp

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rash — hasty
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. court — for sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rash — a series
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. prune — to trim
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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