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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: content · chest · club · scale · net · prune · calf · pitcher

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. net — for catching
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. scale — in music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. net — in sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. club — for dancing
  14. net — after costs
  15. content — the amount
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. club — a group
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. content — happy
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chest — of your body
  24. club — for golf

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