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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 · bark · chest · wax · wound · stand · jam · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bark — to shout
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chest — of your body
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. drill — army training
  20. chest — a box
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wound — an injury

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