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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: ground · trunk · clip · scale · field · plane · content · march

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. content — the amount
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — for paper
  5. march — music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. plane — a tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. content — happy
  11. clip — to cut
  12. field — farmland
  13. ground — a position
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. ground — crushed
  16. march — the month
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. clip — a video
  19. scale — in music
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. field — a subject
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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