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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. track — a path
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. track — to keep track
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. clip — a video
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mine — for digging
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. file — a line of people
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. track — a song
  17. club — a group
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a document
  23. scale — in music
  24. bore — to tire

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