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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fine — all right
  4. clip — a video
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wake — a trail
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. fine — high quality
  14. lie — to recline
  15. drill — the tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. drill — army training
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. drill — a practice
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. field — farmland

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