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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: mark · swing · wake · rush · scale · cell · hand · trunk

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cell — a phone
  4. hand — help
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mark — a trace
  8. swing — music
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rush — hurry
  15. swing — in golf
  16. scale — in music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. hand — in cards
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mark — a grade
  24. trunk — of a car

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