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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: race · cold · rock · cap · nail · hand · trunk · patient

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. race — humankind
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — an illness
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rock — music
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — a contest
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hand — help
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cap — of ice
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rock — a stone
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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