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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: stem · file · last · wind · bowl · prune · scale · wound

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. last — finally
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. stem — to come from
  15. file — a document
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. scale — in music
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a tool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a line of people

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