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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 120 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: file · chest · bowl · nail · trunk · game · clip · fall

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. file — a tool
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fall — the season
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chest — a box
  11. clip — a video
  12. game — a match
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a document
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fall — to drop
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. game — wild animals
  24. clip — for paper

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