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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. land — ground
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. degree — an amount
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. sharp — clever
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — to come down
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. land — a country
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pass — a permit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ruler — for measuring

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