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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: swing · trunk · race · arm · tube · foot · nail · pop

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pop — to visit
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. swing — in golf
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pop — music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pop — soda
  16. tube — a container
  17. swing — music
  18. race — a contest
  19. foot — a measure
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. race — humankind
  24. tube — the underground

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