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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. chip — for betting
  3. clip — a video
  4. chip — to eat
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — farmland
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. field — for sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lean — to bend
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lean — thin
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. content — the amount
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. content — happy
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. field — a subject

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