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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. chest — a box
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rest — what's left
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. clip — a video
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rest — what's left
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rest — a break
  24. trunk — of a car

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