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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. prune — to trim
  3. court — of law
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. scale — size or range
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — for sport
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. scale — in music
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. court — of a king
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — the season

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