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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — to visit
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. march — the month
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. charge — in control
  11. clip — a video
  12. charge — electricity
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. charge — a price
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. stand — to bear
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — to cut

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