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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: spring · temple · deal · jam · kid · prune · scale · roll

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. prune — to trim
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spring — the season
  15. roll — a list
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spring — of water
  19. scale — in music
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. scale — size or range
  22. kid — child
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — a tight spot

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