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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mark — a trace
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. craft — boats
  5. pass — a permit
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — a skill
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. mark — a grade
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — a video
  24. racket — for tennis

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