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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 · prune · coach · trunk · rest · wound · bore · tear

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. prune — to trim
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rest — what's left
  17. prune — to trim
  18. tear — from crying
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — in music
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — to drill

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