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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 120 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. track — a path
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wake — a trail
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — a practice
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. track — a song
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mate — a friend
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. drill — army training
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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