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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 116 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: plane · wound · prune · bark · season · patient · scale · game

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — size or range
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — in sport
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. season — of the year
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. prune — to trim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. plane — a tool
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bark — to shout
  20. game — a match
  21. scale — in music
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. game — wild animals

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