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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: squash · prune · game · scale · wake · field · tube · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. squash — to crush
  3. tube — a container
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tube — the underground
  7. prune — to trim
  8. scale — in music
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wake — a trail
  14. squash — the sport
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. field — for sport
  19. scale — size or range
  20. game — a match
  21. row — a line
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. squash — the vegetable

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