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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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 a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. root — the cause
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. chair — a leader
  9. can — a tin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rock — music
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rock — a stone
  19. shower — rain
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. root — of a word
  23. clip — to cut
  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