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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. clip — a video
  3. bass — low music
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stock — goods
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rash — a series
  10. stock — shares
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rash — hasty
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. season — of the year
  24. bass — the instrument

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