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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: temple · prune · pop · coach · scale · bowl · capital · bat

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. capital — money
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pop — music
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. scale — size or range
  14. capital — a city
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. prune — to trim
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. scale — in music
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pop — soda

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