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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. object — a thing
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. branch — a division
  7. court — of law
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. object — to protest
  12. court — of a king
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. shower — to wash
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. shower — rain
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. court — for sport
  20. object — an aim
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. sharp — clever
  24. clip — for paper

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