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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pound · fan · scale · cabinet · face · prune · kid · bound

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. face — to confront
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kid — child
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. scale — in music
  16. face — to point toward
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pound — a weight
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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