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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 116 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: prune · scale · trunk · face · shower · chair · dip · wax

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. shower — rain
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — to confront
  8. shower — to wash
  9. prune — to trim
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. scale — in music
  13. chair — a leader
  14. face — part of the head
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wax — to grow
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. dip — to sink
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — the fruit

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