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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: last · shower · plane · degree · roll · scale · trunk · prune

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. roll — a list
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. last — to go on
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. roll — a cake
  8. shower — rain
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — in music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. last — finally
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. last — final
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. prune — to trim
  22. plane — a tool
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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