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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: tube · cap · scale · march · wound · squash · lean · trunk

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. march — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cap — of ice
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. scale — size or range
  10. lean — thin
  11. cap — a hat
  12. march — the month
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. tube — the underground
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. march — the month
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — a lid
  20. tube — a container
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — to bend
  24. scale — in music

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