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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: last · nail · scale · fork · cap · trunk · degree · wax

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cap — a hat
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. last — finally
  15. scale — size or range
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. last — to go on
  18. wax — to grow
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fork — in a road
  21. scale — in music
  22. last — final
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cap — a lid

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