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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bear — the animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. clip — for paper
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bear — the animal
  9. net — after costs
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — to cut
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. scale — in music
  14. clip — a video
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. net — for catching
  17. race — a contest
  18. net — in sport
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. scale — size or range
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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