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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 124 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. root — of a word
  5. shower — rain
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. craft — a skill
  8. root — the cause
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wind — moving air
  12. root — of a plant
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — to cut
  17. craft — boats
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. clip — for paper
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. rush — hurry
  24. clip — a video

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