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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: scale · prune · chest · arm · bat · tear · cue · present

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bat — the animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. cue — a signal
  5. present — the time now
  6. chest — a box
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. present — there
  18. prune — to trim
  19. present — a gift
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. scale — size or range
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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