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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cue — a signal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — ground
  9. kick — in football
  10. cue — for pool
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spring — a coil
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. clip — for paper
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. land — to come down
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. chair — a leader
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — the season
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spring — of water

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