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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: kick · jam · nail · field · wound · trunk · cold · band

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wound — an injury
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. field — for sport
  12. kick — in football
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. band — a music group
  18. field — farmland
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — not warm
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. jam — in traffic
  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