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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: trunk · march · nail · row · lash · wind

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. march — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. row — to paddle
  15. march — the month
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. march — the month
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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