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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 120 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. chip — for betting
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tube — a container
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pitch — completely
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. wax — to grow
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. tube — the underground

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