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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — for paper
  5. craft — boats
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. ground — crushed
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. clip — a video
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kick — in football
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rule — a law
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rule — government
  20. bound — certain
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rule — to rule out
  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