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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — a video
  4. pit — in a race
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — to cut
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — in music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pit — a hole
  17. wax — to grow
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wound — an injury

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