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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rush — hurry
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. hand — help
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. hand — in cards
  24. clip — a video

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