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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: kick · chest · nail · bat · trunk · stock · patient · sharp

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — the animal
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stock — shares
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. kick — in football
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. chest — a box
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. stock — goods
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bat — for baseball

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