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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 120 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 · drill · wind · chest · pit · saw · trunk · chair

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chair — a leader
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chest — a box
  6. wind — moving air
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — army training
  13. pit — in a race
  14. drill — the tool
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. pit — a hole
  20. chest — of your body
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. nail — for a hammer

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