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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 116 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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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: wave · prune · present · scale · rule · wind

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. rule — a law
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. present — a gift
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. scale — in music
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. present — there
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. present — the time now
  18. rule — government

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