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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 116 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: mug · pound · can · capital · mate · scale · prune · spring

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. mate — a friend
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mate — to breed
  5. can — a tin
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. capital — money
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a face
  13. spring — of water
  14. capital — a city
  15. mug — a cup
  16. can — a tin
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mate — a partner
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. scale — in music
  21. spring — the season
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — a weight

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