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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · clip · pit · mate · trunk · bay

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. pit — a hole
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. pit — in a race
  17. clip — for paper
  18. leaves — to go away

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