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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: bat · scale · prune · arm · object · cabinet · wake · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. scale — size or range
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. game — a match
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wake — a trail
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. object — to protest
  24. wake — before a funeral

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