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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: prune · nail · file · mug · bat · fall · land · trunk

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. file — a tool
  3. mug — a face
  4. file — a line of people
  5. prune — to trim
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fall — to drop
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. land — a country
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mug — to rob
  20. land — ground
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mug — a cup
  23. file — a document
  24. prune — the fruit

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