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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. court — for sport
  4. track — to keep track
  5. court — of law
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. kid — child
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. kid — to tease
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. track — a song
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. court — of a king
  23. deal — to handle
  24. safe — out of danger

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