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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 120 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: content · kid · trunk · net · hand · row · vault · prune

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hand — help
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — in cards
  8. row — to paddle
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. kid — child
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — after costs
  15. kid — to tease
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. row — a line
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. content — happy
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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