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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: net · tear · charge · cap · prune · file · scale · rest

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — a lid
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cap — a hat
  13. charge — electricity
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cap — of ice
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. file — a tool
  18. scale — size or range
  19. rest — a break
  20. net — after costs
  21. charge — in control
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. charge — a price

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