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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: scale · squash · tube · hand · net · roll · prune · safe

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. hand — help
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. net — for catching
  6. tube — a container
  7. squash — to crush
  8. prune — to trim
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. roll — a list
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. net — in sport
  17. hand — in cards
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. scale — in music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. scale — size or range
  22. net — after costs
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. squash — the sport

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