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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · mouse · lie · squash · prune · spring · band · wind

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. band — a ring
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spring — of water
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. squash — the sport
  12. scale — in music
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. lie — to recline
  19. squash — to crush
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. spring — the season

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