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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 · pitcher · file · branch · face · pop · patient · nail

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. file — a tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pop — to visit
  17. branch — a division
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. face — to confront
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. face — to point toward
  24. file — a document

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