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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: trunk · row · hand · nail · shower · cell · prune · chest

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chest — a box
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hand — help
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. row — to paddle
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cell — in biology
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chest — of your body
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. row — a line
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. hand — in cards
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — to wash
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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