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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. file — a tool
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. file — a line of people
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. clip — a video
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. file — a document
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. clip — to cut
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. clip — for paper
  24. racket — a loud noise

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