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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: chest · wake · leaves · track · arm · nail · land · spring

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. track — a path
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. track — a song
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chest — of your body
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. spring — of water
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. land — ground
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chest — a box
  17. spring — a coil
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wake — a trail
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spring — the season

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