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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 120 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: stand · clip · saw · cell · club · field · trunk · nail

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cell — a phone
  3. field — farmland
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. club — a group
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. club — for golf
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stand — to bear
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. club — for dancing
  20. clip — to cut
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. field — a subject
  24. clip — a video

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