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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. present — a gift
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wake — a trail
  7. land — a country
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — ground
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cue — a hint
  23. present — the time now
  24. squash — to crush

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