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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 · drill · board · wake · scale · fan · clip · march

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. drill — a practice
  4. board — a committee
  5. march — the month
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — size or range
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. drill — army training
  15. board — to get on
  16. clip — for paper
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wake — a trail
  19. clip — to cut
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. march — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. march — the month
  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