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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: root · ball · wound · trunk · branch · hand · snap · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — to grow
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. root — of a plant
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ball — a great time
  14. hand — help
  15. root — the cause
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. root — of a word
  24. wax — for sculpting

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