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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. ball — a great time
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pass — a permit
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. track — a song
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. track — a path

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