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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rush — hurry
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. root — the cause
  6. degree — temperature
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. clip — a video
  9. degree — an amount
  10. root — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kick — in football
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. root — of a word
  24. rush — to hurry

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