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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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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: scale · prune · hide · kick · leaves · band · drill · kid

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. band — a music group
  3. scale — in music
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. drill — army training
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — child
  12. drill — a practice
  13. band — a ring
  14. scale — size or range
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. drill — the tool
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. scale — for weighing

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