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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 · rush · wax · mouse · stem · branch · wound · row

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. row — a line
  3. wax — to grow
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. branch — a division
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mouse — the animal

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