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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: date · saw · prune · drill · jam · capital · chest · scale

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a city
  7. chest — a box
  8. drill — the tool
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. capital — money
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. scale — size or range
  16. date — the fruit
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. drill — a practice
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. scale — in music
  24. chest — of your body

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