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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 · cabinet · wound · branch · track · tube · stick · snap

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. snap — to click
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. track — a path
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tube — a container
  23. track — to keep track
  24. branch — a division

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