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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: nail · trunk · hand · craft · tear · net · wave · cell

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. net — for catching
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. cell — in biology
  15. hand — in cards
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hand — help
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cell — a phone

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