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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: wax · branch · file · court · stem · spring · row · trunk

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. row — a line
  6. branch — a division
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. spring — the season
  10. file — a tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. row — to paddle
  16. spring — of water
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. file — a document
  19. stem — to come from
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wax — in the ear

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