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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: leaves · fall · trunk · temple · bat · wax · cold · press

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wax — to grow
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fall — the season
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. press — to push
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. trunk — of a car

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