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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: rush · scale · prune · swing · kick · bound · cap · fork

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. scale — in music
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. swing — to play on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bound — obliged
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bound — certain
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cap — of ice
  14. kick — in football
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — to trim
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  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