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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: fine · arm · wound · spell · file · prune · scale · court

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. fine — all right
  2. court — of law
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wound — an injury
  6. prune — to trim
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. court — for sport
  9. scale — in music
  10. file — a tool
  11. fine — high quality
  12. spell — letters
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. scale — size or range
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. spell — magic
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. court — of a king
  23. wound — an injury
  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