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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bass — low music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. shower — to wash
  9. court — for sport
  10. shower — rain
  11. clip — a video
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. court — of law
  15. mark — a trace
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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