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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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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: trunk · tube · squash · game · nail · tear · cell · lean

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. squash — the sport
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cell — a phone
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. squash — to crush
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a match
  22. cell — in biology
  23. lean — thin
  24. tube — in a tire

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