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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 · wake · patient · scale · file · chair · chip · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chip — to eat
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wake — a trail
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chair — a leader
  21. file — a tool
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. file — a document
  24. scale — in music

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