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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: branch · stock · cold · wax · mouse · bound · trunk · rock

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rock — music
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rock — a stone
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bound — obliged
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bound — tied together
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bound — certain
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stock — shares
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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