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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.

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: trunk · clip · band · bat · perch · cabinet · ground · hide

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. band — a music group
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ground — a position
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ground — crushed
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. hide — to keep secret

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