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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 · land · mouse · capital · field · trunk · prune · saw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. field — for sport
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. saw — the tool
  14. field — a subject
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. prune — to trim
  22. capital — a city
  23. saw — the tool
  24. capital — money

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