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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spell · bowl · pop · key · net · clip · prune · scale

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. clip — a video
  8. spell — letters
  9. key — for a lock
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. spell — magic
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — for catching
  15. key — in music
  16. net — in sport
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pop — to visit
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. prune — the fruit

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