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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: last · nail · stand · rash · wound · ball · trunk · spring

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. last — to go on
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. spring — the season
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ball — a great time
  12. stand — to bear
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — final
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. ball — a dance
  22. last — finally
  23. spring — of water
  24. stand — on your feet

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