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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: club · hand · pit · trunk · fan · scale · spring · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. scale — in music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. spring — of water
  7. club — for golf
  8. prune — to trim
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pit — a hole
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. hand — in cards
  15. club — for dancing
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. spring — the season
  21. pit — in a race
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. club — a group
  24. hand — help

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