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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. clip — a video
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cap — a hat
  5. key — for a lock
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. chest — of your body
  9. key — in music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — the fruit
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cap — of ice
  18. key — the most important part
  19. chest — a box
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cap — a lid
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. present — a gift

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