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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: wind · track · toast · trunk · clip · perch · spell · chip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spell — magic
  7. perch — the fish
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. track — a path
  10. spell — a short time
  11. clip — for paper
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wind — moving air
  14. toast — bread
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spell — letters
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — to eat
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. clip — a video
  21. track — a song
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chip — for betting

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