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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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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: rule · scale · net · prune · file · wind · capital · pop

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. scale — in music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. rule — government
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pop — soda
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pop — to visit
  10. file — a tool
  11. capital — money
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. net — after costs
  17. pop — music
  18. rule — a law
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a document
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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