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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
468
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: racket · nail · straw · content · lie · land · trunk · clip

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. content — happy
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. content — the amount
  11. lie — to recline
  12. land — a country
  13. clip — to cut
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. land — ground
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. clip — for paper
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — a video
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. trunk — of a tree

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