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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: date · object · trunk · content · staff · roll · clip · saw

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. object — a thing
  3. saw — the tool
  4. clip — a video
  5. content — happy
  6. staff — employees
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. date — the fruit
  10. clip — to cut
  11. staff — employees
  12. saw — the tool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. object — an aim
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — for paper
  18. roll — a list
  19. object — to protest
  20. content — the amount
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. roll — a cake
  24. date — on the calendar

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