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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 120 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: fine · scale · cold · trunk · club · stick · file · bear

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fine — all right
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bear — the animal
  10. club — a group
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. file — a document
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. file — a tool
  20. fine — high quality
  21. club — for dancing
  22. scale — in music
  23. fine — a penalty
  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