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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chair — a leader
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — for paper
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. band — a music group
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — a video

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