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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · trunk · march · wax · straw · chest · ball · cabinet

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ball — a dance
  4. scale — in music
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. march — the month
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. scale — size or range
  15. march — music
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — a box
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. scale — for weighing
  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