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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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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. branch — a division
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. march — music
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. march — the month
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. march — the month

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