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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. band — a ring
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. clip — for paper
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — rain
  18. saw — the tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. band — a music group
  24. clip — to cut

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