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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: cold · pitcher · club · branch · trunk · content · scale · cabinet

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. scale — size or range
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. scale — in music
  13. branch — a division
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. club — for golf
  20. content — the amount
  21. club — a group
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cabinet — ministers

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