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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: board · saw · club · safe · snap · trunk · chest · pitcher

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. board — to get on
  5. chest — of your body
  6. club — for dancing
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. club — a group
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. chest — a box
  11. board — a committee
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. club — for golf
  17. saw — the tool
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. saw — the tool
  24. trunk — of a car

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