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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 116 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: prune · clip · last · pitcher · sharp · scale · ball · lean

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lean — to bend
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. scale — size or range
  14. clip — a video
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. clip — to cut
  17. last — final
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. sharp — clever
  21. ball — a great time
  22. scale — in music
  23. lean — thin
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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