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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. charge — in control
  3. drill — army training
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cell — a phone
  11. drill — a practice
  12. clip — a video
  13. charge — a price
  14. drill — the tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pit — in a race
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chest — of your body
  23. charge — electricity
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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