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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: prune · scale · sharp · racket · stem · deal · pitcher · wax

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. scale — in music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. sharp — clever
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. prune — to trim
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stem — to come from
  24. scale — size or range

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