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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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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: kick · land · scale · ruler · bear · prune · racket · straw

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — to come down
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. scale — size or range
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. land — ground
  9. kick — in football
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. scale — in music
  19. land — a country
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kick — with a leg

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