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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. clip — a video
  3. land — a country
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mug — a cup
  6. hand — help
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. kick — in football
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. land — to come down
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mug — a face
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mug — to rob
  24. kick — with a leg

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