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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: trunk · drill · wound · straw · branch · wax · last · snap

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to click
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. drill — a practice
  11. last — to go on
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. last — final
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. drill — army training
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — finally
  19. drill — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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