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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: wake · mate · scale · cold · roll · trunk · hand · staff

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. staff — employees
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. staff — employees
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mate — a partner
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hand — in cards
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wake — a trail
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hand — help
  20. scale — in music
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a cake
  24. wake — before a funeral

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