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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. staff — a stick
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bank — for money
  7. staff — employees
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — a video
  10. bank — of a river
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bank — for money
  18. field — a subject
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. shower — to wash
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. shower — rain
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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