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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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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: object · racket · bat · saw · prune · rule · chest · deal

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. chest — of your body
  3. object — to protest
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. chest — a box
  6. object — a thing
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rule — government
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. deal — to handle
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. saw — the tool
  19. object — an aim
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. prune — the fruit

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