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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · wound · spring · chest · arm · ground · chair · scale

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — a position
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. scale — in music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. scale — size or range
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — for weighing

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