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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 · mug · prune · capital · bank · net · cabinet

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. land — ground
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bank — of a river
  5. mug — a cup
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mug — a face
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. capital — money
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. bank — for money
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. net — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. scale — in music
  22. bank — for money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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