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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 120 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 · mark · saw · rest · prune · scale · wax · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. saw — the tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spell — letters
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mark — a grade
  11. scale — in music
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wax — to grow
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rest — what's left
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — a break

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