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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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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: nail · tube · roll · fine · prune · file · scale · racket

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. tube — a container
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fine — high quality
  9. roll — a cake
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — in music
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. file — a line of people
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. scale — size or range
  17. roll — a list
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. file — a tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. file — a document
  23. tube — the underground
  24. fine — a penalty

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