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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: vault · trunk · wax · season · bulb · ground · tear · branch

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bulb — for light
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tear — to rip
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wax — to grow
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. ground — a position
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bulb — for light
  18. branch — a division
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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