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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. clip — for paper
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. clip — a video
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. last — to go on
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. last — final
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — finally

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