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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. clip — to cut
  3. key — in music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. row — a line
  7. key — for a lock
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. court — of law
  11. club — a group
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. clip — for paper
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. club — for dancing
  18. row — to paddle
  19. scale — size or range
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. key — the most important part
  23. clip — a video
  24. club — for golf

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