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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: scale · swing · prune · spring · bank · stock · roll · squash

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. spring — of water
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bank — of a river
  9. stock — goods
  10. prune — to trim
  11. roll — a list
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — the season
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stock — shares
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bank — for money
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bank — for money
  24. roll — on a roll

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