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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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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: pound · swing · scale · cabinet · sharp · prune · fork · rule

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rule — a law
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rule — government
  12. sharp — clever
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pound — a weight
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. sharp — exactly

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