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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: clip · trunk · temple · present · snap · swing · calf · wake

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. swing — in golf
  5. clip — a video
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. swing — music
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. snap — to click
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. present — a gift
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. present — the time now
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. present — there
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. clip — to cut

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