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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: snap · last · nail · saw · coach · bat · trunk · roll

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. last — final
  15. snap — to click
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. last — finally

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