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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 · stem · cell · row · scale · capital · drill · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. row — a line
  3. drill — a practice
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. drill — army training
  6. scale — in music
  7. capital — money
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. scale — size or range
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stem — to come from
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cell — in biology
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. drill — the tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. prune — to trim

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