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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: nail · shower · prune · band · fine · scale · face · fall

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fall — to drop
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a ring
  6. shower — rain
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — to confront
  9. fall — the season
  10. prune — to trim
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fine — high quality
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. face — to point toward
  16. fine — all right
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. face — part of the head
  21. scale — in music
  22. band — a music group
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fine — a penalty

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