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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 116 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: vault · pop · branch · can · wax · ground · cold · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. can — a tin
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. can — a tin
  5. ground — the earth
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. ground — crushed
  10. can — to be able to
  11. pop — to visit
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pop — soda
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. vault — a safe
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pop — music
  19. ground — a position
  20. cold — an illness
  21. branch — a division
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wax — to grow
  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