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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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 an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — to grow
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — from a university
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — for paper
  14. firm — decided
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a tool
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. firm — a company
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. firm — steady
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. court — of law
  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