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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 120 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: stand · last · clip · degree · perch · trunk · lean · club

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. stand — to bear
  3. degree — temperature
  4. club — for dancing
  5. last — final
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. clip — for paper
  9. last — to go on
  10. club — for golf
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. club — a group
  13. lean — thin
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lean — to bend
  17. clip — to cut
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — an amount
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. last — finally
  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