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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: tube · prune · last · land · bulb · net · scale · cabinet

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. net — after costs
  4. last — to go on
  5. tube — a container
  6. bulb — for light
  7. last — finally
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — a country
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. last — final
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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