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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: file · clip · wave · trunk · race · net · pop · cap

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. net — in sport
  3. pop — music
  4. net — after costs
  5. race — a contest
  6. file — a tool
  7. pop — to visit
  8. net — for catching
  9. file — a line of people
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cap — of ice
  13. clip — to cut
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cap — a lid
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — a video
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pop — soda
  23. file — a document
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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