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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · prune · toast · pitch · bowl · scale · spring · mouse

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — in music
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spring — the season
  18. scale — size or range
  19. spring — of water
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — a video

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