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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: march · branch · cell · trunk · root · dip · scale · hide

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — music
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cell — a phone
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. scale — in music
  9. root — of a word
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. scale — size or range
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. root — of a plant
  20. dip — to sink
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. root — the cause
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. trunk — of a tree

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