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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: date · content · mouse · squash · wind · snap · prune · scale

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. scale — size or range
  7. squash — the sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. content — happy
  10. snap — to click
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. prune — to trim
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. squash — to crush
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. scale — for weighing

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