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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. toast — bread
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spring — of water
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — boats
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. spring — a coil
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spring — the season
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. nail — on a finger

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