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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wake · arm · scale · stock · land · cell · spell · prune

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spell — magic
  3. stock — shares
  4. prune — to trim
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. stock — goods
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. land — a country
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. spell — letters
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — to come down
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — a short time

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