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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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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: current · chest · ruler · land · wax · trunk · saw · branch

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. current — happening now
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. land — to come down
  11. current — electric
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. current — of water
  21. chest — a box
  22. branch — a division
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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