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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fine — high quality
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. foot — a measure
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chest — of your body
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. fine — all right
  15. deal — to handle
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. chest — a box
  20. game — a match
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. game — wild animals
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. chest — of your body

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