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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: rule · clip · face · scale · prune · pitcher · foot · spell

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. scale — size or range
  3. face — to point toward
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rule — a law
  6. spell — a short time
  7. foot — a measure
  8. face — part of the head
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. clip — a video
  16. rule — government
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spell — magic
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. spell — letters
  22. prune — to trim
  23. face — to confront
  24. prune — to trim

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