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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — the tool
  4. clip — a video
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. band — a ring
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wake — a trail
  10. lie — to recline
  11. drill — army training
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bulb — for light
  19. rock — music
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lie — an untruth

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