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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 120 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: kid · trunk · arm · deal · bat · club · scale · prune

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. deal — to handle
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. kid — to tease
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bat — the animal
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — child
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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