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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: drill · hand · trunk · saw · branch · game · tube · bear

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. hand — help
  3. tube — a container
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. branch — a division
  6. saw — the tool
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. drill — a practice
  13. saw — the tool
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. tube — the underground
  16. hand — in cards
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bear — the animal
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. drill — army training
  21. bear — the animal
  22. game — wild animals
  23. drill — the tool
  24. trunk — of a tree

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