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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mark — a grade
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. charge — a price
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mark — a trace
  13. land — ground
  14. kick — in football
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. board — to get on
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. charge — in control
  24. board — a committee

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