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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: trunk · march · wind · tear · mate · scale

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wind — moving air
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tear — to rip
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mate — a partner
  9. march — the month
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — music
  17. scale — in music
  18. tear — from crying

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