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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: scale · mug · pit · last · ball · bark · prune · wound

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mug — to rob
  3. ball — a dance
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wound — an injury
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mug — a face
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. scale — in music
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. last — finally
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. scale — size or range

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