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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: bulb · bark · prune · season · scale · kid · wind · last

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bark — to shout
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bulb — for light
  11. season — in sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. scale — in music
  22. kid — child
  23. season — of the year
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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