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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — the fish
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — a video
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. land — a country
  10. track — a path
  11. race — humankind
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — to come down
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — a contest
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. track — a song
  18. race — the arms race
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. land — ground
  21. clip — to cut
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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