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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 116 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: wake · trunk · spell · pop · capital · chair · bark · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. spell — magic
  3. scale — in music
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pop — to visit
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — soda
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. capital — a city
  16. spell — letters
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pop — music
  24. bark — to shout

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