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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: present · prune · scale · last · pound · pitcher · roll · craft

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — finally
  5. present — a gift
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. present — there
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. craft — a skill
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. last — final
  14. scale — size or range
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. present — the time now
  17. roll — a list
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. last — to go on
  20. craft — boats
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. prune — to trim
  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