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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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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: trunk · court · straw · bound · wax · drill · wake · bat

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bound — obliged
  4. court — of a king
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. court — for sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. drill — army training
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. court — of law
  15. wake — a trail
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bat — the animal
  24. drill — a practice

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