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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · mine · trunk · row · fork · spring · fan · arm

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. row — a line
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. spring — the season
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chest — of your body
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. chest — a box
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — of water

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