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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: squash · trunk · straw · wax · fan · tear · leaves · fork

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. squash — to crush
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. squash — the sport
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. tear — from crying
  24. squash — the vegetable

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