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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: plane · trunk · chest · net · lean · cabinet

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. lean — thin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. net — for catching
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. lean — to bend
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. chest — of your body
  18. plane — a tool

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