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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: stem · chest · trunk · bark · game · nail · prune · fork

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. game — a match
  23. chest — a box
  24. stem — a stem cell

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