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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 · row · pitcher · wake · lean · scale · field · date

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wake — a trail
  3. scale — in music
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. row — a line
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. field — farmland
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. row — to paddle
  19. field — for sport
  20. scale — size or range
  21. field — a subject
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — 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