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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tube — the underground
  3. clip — a video
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. ground — a position
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. tube — a container
  12. shower — rain
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — for paper
  15. suit — to fit
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. ground — the earth
  18. suit — clothes
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. suit — in cards
  22. ground — crushed
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. trunk — of a tree

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