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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 · sharp · race · net · mine · chip · drill · stem

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. sharp — clever
  4. race — humankind
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — the tool
  10. chip — for betting
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chip — to eat
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. race — a contest
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stem — to come from
  21. net — after costs
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. drill — army training
  24. stem — a stem cell

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