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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. file — a line of people
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — a video
  10. pit — in a race
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a document
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. chip — to eat
  17. present — a gift
  18. chip — for betting
  19. present — there
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pit — a hole
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. hand — help
  24. present — the time now

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