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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 · bay · wake · stem · hide · fall · prune · field

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — farmland
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wake — a trail
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fall — the season
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. scale — size or range
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. scale — in music
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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