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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: court · mouse · kick · kid · prune · stock · scale · straw

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — of a king
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — shares
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. kick — in football
  15. stock — goods
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. scale — size or range
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. scale — in music
  24. straw — dry grass

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