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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: drill · perch · nail · kid · chest · trunk · pop · last

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — to visit
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — of your body
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pop — music
  9. perch — the fish
  10. kid — to tease
  11. last — finally
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. drill — a practice
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chest — a box
  19. pop — soda
  20. drill — the tool
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. chest — of your body
  23. drill — army training
  24. last — final

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