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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: clip · shower · file · last · jam · toast · trunk · degree

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. file — a document
  6. last — final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — to go on
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — a video
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. file — a line of people
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. file — a tool

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