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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tear — to rip
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tear — from crying

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