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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 116 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: ball · snap · racket · saw · row · prune · scale · cell

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — a phone
  10. saw — the tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cell — in biology
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. snap — to click
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. prune — to trim

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