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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: chest · stick · drill · prune · scale · lash · perch · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. scale — in music
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. scale — size or range
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — army training
  13. prune — to trim
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — of your body
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. perch — the fish
  24. lash — an eyelash

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