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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: chip · trunk · land · nail · lash · plane · fall · wound

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. land — a country
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. land — to come down
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chip — to eat
  15. land — ground
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. chip — for betting
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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