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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 · wave · wind · fall · land · craft · date

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. date — the fruit
  6. land — a country
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — in music
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fall — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. land — ground
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. scale — size or range
  22. prune — to trim
  23. craft — a skill
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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