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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: clip · ground · scale · spell · wake · trunk · vault · last

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. vault — a safe
  6. scale — size or range
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. scale — in music
  10. spell — magic
  11. last — finally
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wake — a trail
  19. ground — crushed
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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