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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mug — a cup
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. land — to come down
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. clip — to cut
  8. firm — a company
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. firm — steady
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. clip — a video
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — for paper
  18. firm — decided
  19. land — a country
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. mug — to rob
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. kick — in football
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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