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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: wax · trunk · bark · branch · race · tear · perch · kid

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. kid — to tease
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. branch — a division
  22. kid — child
  23. tear — from crying
  24. race — the arms race

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