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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: game · band · trunk · kid · chest · lean · nail · vault

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. game — a match
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lean — to bend
  9. chest — of your body
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. vault — a safe
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. band — a ring
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. chest — a box
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. game — wild animals
  20. band — a music group
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. lean — thin
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kid — child

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