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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 · race · wax · wound · mine · bowl · vault · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wound — an injury
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. race — a contest
  16. vault — a safe
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. race — the arms race

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