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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: wind · pit · trunk · fine · perch · scale · cell · pitcher

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — high quality
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fine — all right
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — in music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cell — in biology
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. scale — size or range
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. perch — the fish

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