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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: trunk · pound · drill · chest · mine · content · pitcher · wake

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. drill — the tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — for digging
  10. content — happy
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — a box
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pound — a weight
  16. drill — army training
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. drill — a practice
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. trunk — of a car

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