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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. net — after costs
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. plane — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. clip — to cut
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — in sport
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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