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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. sharp — clever
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mug — a face
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. clip — to cut
  9. land — to come down
  10. mug — a cup
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stock — shares
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. snap — to click
  20. clip — a video
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stock — goods
  24. land — ground

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