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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: current · land · trunk · firm · hand · roll · chest · rest

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. firm — steady
  3. hand — help
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. current — of water
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rest — a break
  11. firm — decided
  12. hand — in cards
  13. firm — a company
  14. roll — a cake
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. rest — what's left
  19. roll — a list
  20. rest — what's left
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chest — a box

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