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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. hand — in cards
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. clip — for paper
  7. object — an aim
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. object — to protest
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hand — help
  18. object — a thing

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