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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. branch — a division
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ball — a great time
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. clip — for paper
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rock — music
  15. ball — a dance
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rock — a stone
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. race — a contest
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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