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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. last — to go on
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. net — in sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. last — finally
  8. saw — the tool
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. last — final
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kick — in football
  15. file — a document
  16. net — for catching
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. net — after costs
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. clip — for paper

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