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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: kick · chest · straw · wound · patient · cabinet · trunk · bank

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chest — a box
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bank — of a river
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bank — for money
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. kick — in football
  23. bank — for money
  24. straw — dry grass

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