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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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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: lash · nail · trunk · wind · row · chair · club · roll

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. row — a line
  3. club — for dancing
  4. roll — a list
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. club — for golf
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. club — a group
  10. roll — a cake
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. row — to paddle
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wind — moving air

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