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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 120 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: mouse · field · prune · chair · court · bat · lash · bay

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. court — of a king
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. court — for sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of law

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