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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 120 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: land · branch · trunk · kick · plane · rush · wax · key

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kick — in football
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wax — to grow
  11. plane — a tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. key — the most important part
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. key — in music
  24. land — to come down

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