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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: chest · squash · fork · trunk · mouse · chair · nail · clip

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fork — in a road
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chest — a box
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. chair — to sit on

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