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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: club · bowl · prune · wind · scale · plane · mouse · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. club — for golf
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — a coil
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. scale — in music
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — a group
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bowl — a dish

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