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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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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: nail · band · race · arm · pitcher · chest · trunk · swing

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. race — a contest
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. band — a ring
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. race — humankind
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a music group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. band — a rubber band

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