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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · straw · scale · saw · dip · tear · lean · ball

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. lean — thin
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ball — a dance
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. saw — the tool
  11. dip — to sink
  12. saw — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. tear — to rip
  18. scale — in music
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. tear — from crying
  23. prune — to trim
  24. scale — size or range

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