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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. chair — a leader
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. roll — a cake
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. roll — a list
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. hand — help
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. trunk — of a car
  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