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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: trunk · kid · chip · row · club · hand · file · bulb

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. club — a group
  3. kid — child
  4. file — a document
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. club — for dancing
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. hand — in cards
  12. club — for golf
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bulb — for light
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bulb — for light
  17. chip — to eat
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — help
  24. trunk — of a tree

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