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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: coach · game · fall · scale · spring · saw · prune · fork

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fall — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. spring — a coil
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fall — to drop
  15. scale — size or range
  16. prune — to trim
  17. scale — in music
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. game — wild animals
  20. saw — the tool
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. saw — the tool

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