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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bound · trunk · staff · land · kick · clip · bat · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — to visit
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. land — to come down
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — for paper
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pop — music
  23. land — ground
  24. bound — obliged

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