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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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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: prune · vault · clip · chip · cap · scale · court · pound

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pound — a weight
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chip — for betting
  12. vault — a safe
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chip — to eat
  18. clip — for paper
  19. scale — in music
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. clip — a video
  24. cap — a hat

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