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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: rock · stick · degree · chair · mine · nail · trunk · fall

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. rock — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mine — for digging
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. degree — temperature
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chair — a leader
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rock — a stone
  23. fall — the season
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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