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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: prune · pop · band · bass · net · clip · scale · ruler

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. scale — in music
  3. pop — soda
  4. clip — to cut
  5. scale — size or range
  6. net — for catching
  7. clip — a video
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pop — music
  10. band — a ring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bass — low music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bass — the fish
  21. net — in sport
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. prune — to trim

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