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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bat — the animal
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. row — a line
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pit — in a race
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rest — what's left
  24. clip — for paper

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