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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — the month
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mug — a face
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. march — music
  7. root — of a word
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. mug — to rob
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cue — a hint
  14. clip — a video
  15. root — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mug — a cup
  18. root — the cause
  19. content — happy
  20. wake — a trail
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. content — the amount
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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