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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mark — a trace
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. stem — of a plant

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