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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: scale · prune · spell · tear · arm · straw · capital · mouse

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. capital — money
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. prune — to trim
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spell — magic
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. scale — in music
  16. capital — a city
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spell — letters
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. scale — size or range
  22. spell — a short time
  23. capital — a big letter
  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