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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ruler · scale · mine · coach · field · court · prune · mouse

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. field — farmland
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. field — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. scale — in music
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — a subject
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. court — for sport

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