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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 120 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. current — electric
  4. march — music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. current — happening now
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bat — the animal
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. drill — a practice
  16. current — of water
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. clip — to cut

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