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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's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — to cut
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. suit — to fit
  10. branch — a division
  11. cap — of ice
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. suit — clothes
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. clip — for paper
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. suit — in cards
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. trunk — of a tree

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