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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. drill — the tool
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. craft — a skill
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. ground — a position
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bulb — for light
  21. craft — boats
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

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