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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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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 · game · rest · scale · row · season · pop · nail

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. pop — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rest — what's left
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pop — soda
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pop — to visit
  14. scale — in music
  15. game — a match
  16. rest — a break
  17. row — a line
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. prune — to trim
  20. scale — size or range
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — wild animals

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