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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rash · hide · trunk · branch · wax · toast · band · cold

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cold — an illness
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wax — to grow
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. branch — a division
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — a series
  20. toast — bread
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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