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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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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: club · leaves · prune · chest · object · tear · scale · file

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. scale — size or range
  3. club — a group
  4. object — an aim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — in music
  8. object — to protest
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. file — a tool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. file — a line of people
  13. object — a thing
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. file — a document
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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