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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: scale · wake · last · mate · fork · sharp · branch · trunk

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mate — a friend
  9. scale — in music
  10. mate — a partner
  11. last — finally
  12. branch — a division
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. fork — in a road
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. last — final
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. last — to go on
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wake — a trail
  24. sharp — exactly

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