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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 116 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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. band — a music group
  13. clip — for paper
  14. plane — a tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chair — a leader
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kick — in football
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tear — to rip
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pass — a permit

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