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

Word bank: trunk · drill · wound · straw · branch · wax

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wax — to grow
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. drill — a practice
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — the tool
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. drill — army training
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. branch — a division
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. branch — of a bank

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