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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. track — a song
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mate — to breed
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. mate — a friend
  11. track — a path
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. kid — to tease
  17. track — to keep track
  18. clip — a video
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kid — child
  24. lash — an eyelash

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