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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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. clip — for paper
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cell — a phone
  7. can — a tin
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. clip — a video
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. dip — to sink
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. foot — a measure
  24. trunk — of a tree

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