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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 120 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: prune · scale · mark · march · spell · clip · key · fan

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spell — magic
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mark — a trace
  15. scale — in music
  16. march — the month
  17. mark — a grade
  18. clip — for paper
  19. march — music
  20. clip — a video
  21. key — for a lock
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. key — in music
  24. key — the most important part

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