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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pop — soda
  6. clip — a video
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. current — of water
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pop — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. current — happening now
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. sharp — clever
  19. current — electric
  20. file — a tool
  21. chair — a leader
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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