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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: tear · prune · leaves · wave · cell · mark · scale · club

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. tear — to rip
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. club — for golf
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. prune — to trim
  12. club — for dancing
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — from crying
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. prune — to trim
  18. scale — in music
  19. mark — a trace
  20. club — a group
  21. cell — in biology
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — size or range
  24. leaves — lets stay

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