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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: tube · wind · date · net · cap · scale · prune · pound

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cap — of ice
  4. scale — in music
  5. date — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. net — in sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. net — for catching
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. net — after costs
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pound — a weight
  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