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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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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 · wind · tear · drill · chest · snap

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. chest — a box
  18. snap — to click

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