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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: scale · trunk · hand · leaves · chest · swing · straw · roll

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. hand — in cards
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. roll — a list
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. chest — of your body
  8. swing — in golf
  9. roll — a cake
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hand — help
  13. swing — to play on
  14. scale — in music
  15. chest — a box
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. swing — music
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — size or range

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