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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: band · scale · present · deal · race · key · fall · prune

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. key — for a lock
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. scale — size or range
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — a contest
  10. band — a ring
  11. fall — the season
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. band — a music group
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. key — the most important part
  19. present — the time now
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. prune — to trim
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. race — humankind
  24. scale — in music

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