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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · prune · face · trunk · chip · ground · file · plane

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. face — to point toward
  5. clip — to cut
  6. file — a tool
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. ground — crushed
  10. file — a line of people
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. face — part of the head
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chip — for betting
  16. face — to confront
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. clip — a video
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. file — a document

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