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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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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 · mouse · tear · scale · rest · kid · fork · nail

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — child
  4. scale — size or range
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rest — what's left
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fork — in a road
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. scale — in music
  22. rest — a break
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mouse — for a computer

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