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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bound — tied together
  5. staff — a stick
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bound — certain
  12. stock — goods
  13. club — a group
  14. staff — employees
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for dancing
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. clip — a video
  20. stock — shares
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. club — for golf
  23. bound — obliged
  24. staff — employees

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