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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 116 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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. bay — to keep at bay
  3. clip — to cut
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. ground — a position
  6. clip — for paper
  7. snap — to click
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. kid — child
  12. pop — to visit
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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