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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bound — tied together
  3. key — in music
  4. pop — music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pop — to visit
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bound — obliged
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — certain
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — soda
  15. rest — a break
  16. row — a line
  17. key — the most important part
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — what's left

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