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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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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 · fine · tear · ruler · fall · prune · clip

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — all right
  9. tear — to rip
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fine — high quality
  15. scale — in music
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mug — a face
  18. fall — the season
  19. mug — to rob
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. tear — from crying

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