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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. present — a gift
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. present — the time now
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. swing — in golf
  19. clip — a video
  20. swing — music
  21. present — there
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. prune — to trim
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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