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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 · hand · root · field · bank · scale · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. field — farmland
  9. bank — for money
  10. wake — a trail
  11. hand — in cards
  12. root — the cause
  13. bank — of a river
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. field — a subject
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bank — for money
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. field — for sport
  23. scale — in music
  24. trunk — of a tree

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