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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: trunk · hand · cell · mug · drill · march · can · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. march — music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. drill — a practice
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. drill — army training
  11. mug — to rob
  12. can — to be able to
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mug — a face
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mug — a cup
  18. hand — help
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — the month
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cell — in a prison

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