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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 · mate · hand · ground · trunk · degree · leaves · prune

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. degree — an amount
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. mate — a friend
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — from a university
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. hand — in cards
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mate — to breed
  24. degree — temperature

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