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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: swing · file · trunk · rash · patient · clip · bark · chest

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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 a tree
  2. rash — hasty
  3. clip — a video
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bark — to shout
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. clip — to cut
  12. swing — music
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. file — a document
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. chest — of your body
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. swing — to play on
  20. file — a line of people
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chest — a box
  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