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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. chip — to eat
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chip — for betting
  6. content — happy
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. content — the amount
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. clip — a video
  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