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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: track · cold · wax · scale · trunk · stick · calf · root

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. scale — in music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. root — of a word
  13. track — to keep track
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. scale — size or range
  16. root — the cause
  17. cold — an illness
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. track — a song
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. track — a path

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