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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: bat · cell · rash · object · pitcher · prune · foot · rush

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rash — a series
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. object — to protest
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. object — a thing
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bat — for baseball

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