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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: prune · scale · mine · fine · lie · face · rash · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. scale — in music
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. face — part of the head
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fine — all right
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. lie — to recline
  14. prune — to trim
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. face — to confront
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rash — a series
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fine — high quality

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