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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 · swing · wind · sharp · scale · mine · ground

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. scale — size or range
  4. sharp — clever
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. swing — music
  10. wake — a trail
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — a position
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. mine — for digging
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. swing — to play on

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