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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ball · wind · wax · coach · degree · trunk · club · branch

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. 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. wind — moving air
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wax — to grow
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. club — a group
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ball — a dance
  10. club — for golf
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. 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