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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: ball · tear · pop · land · scale · last · hide · prune

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pop — music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pop — to visit
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ball — a dance
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — to come down
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — final
  13. land — ground
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. pop — soda
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. ball — a great time
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — a country
  24. scale — for weighing

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