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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's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cap — of ice
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — a video
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bulb — for light
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. race — the arms race
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. race — a contest
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cap — a lid
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. race — humankind
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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