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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 116 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: sharp · ground · trunk · firm · shower · branch · wax · mine

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. firm — decided
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. ground — the earth
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. firm — a company
  20. ground — a position
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. ground — crushed
  24. sharp — with an edge

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