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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: wound · key · scale · stem · capital · prune · can · band

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stem — to come from
  6. can — a tin
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. key — for a lock
  10. can — a tin
  11. key — the most important part
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wound — an injury
  14. band — a music group
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. can — to be able to
  21. scale — in music
  22. key — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. capital — a city

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