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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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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: ruler · mark · trunk · clip · prune · row · bank · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mark — a grade
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bank — for money
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. clip — to cut
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bank — of a river
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chest — a box
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bank — for money
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. row — a line
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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