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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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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: rest · prune · kid · scale · chest · squash · drill · cap

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. drill — the tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. squash — to crush
  5. scale — size or range
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. prune — to trim
  8. scale — in music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cap — of ice
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rest — what's left
  14. drill — army training
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kid — child
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — a lid
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — a break
  23. cap — a hat
  24. squash — the sport

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