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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — for paper
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — money
  9. clip — a video
  10. can — to be able to
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. can — a tin
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — low music
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. can — a tin
  24. row — to paddle

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