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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. cold — not warm
  4. clip — a video
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — in control
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. charge — a price
  19. bark — to shout
  20. staff — employees
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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