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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · scale · drill · perch · prune · cabinet · staff · wound

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. staff — employees
  5. scale — size or range
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cold — not warm
  8. staff — a stick
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — an illness
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — to trim
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. drill — the tool
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. staff — employees

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