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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: hand · cell · trunk · wax · date · nail

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. nail — for a hammer

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