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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: net · current · prune · march · wave · land · scale · bark

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. land — to come down
  3. scale — in music
  4. current — happening now
  5. prune — to trim
  6. march — music
  7. net — in sport
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. land — a country
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. scale — size or range
  12. land — ground
  13. net — after costs
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. net — for catching
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. current — of water
  19. bark — to shout
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. current — electric
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. prune — to trim

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