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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: bark · scale · bat · wake · prune · cabinet · ground · tube

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. ground — crushed
  4. scale — in music
  5. tube — the underground
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tube — a container
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ground — a position
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. prune — the fruit

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