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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — a video
  3. chest — of your body
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. fall — the season
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cue — a signal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cell — a phone
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cue — for pool
  17. deal — to handle
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chest — a box
  21. cue — a hint
  22. fall — to drop
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. chest — of your body

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