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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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468
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 · hand · spring · board · rush · kid · bark

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. scale — size or range
  3. board — to get on
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. spring — of water
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. board — a committee
  9. rush — hurry
  10. kid — to tease
  11. prune — to trim
  12. scale — in music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — help
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — in cards
  24. board — a flat piece

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