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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: craft · trunk · bass · prune · chip · bat · rest · clip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. craft — a skill
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rest — a break
  12. craft — boats
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chip — for betting
  18. clip — a video
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bass — the fish
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bat — the animal

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