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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · game · craft · trunk · clip · wound · cold · pass

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. object — to protest
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pass — a permit
  8. clip — to cut
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. object — a thing
  17. clip — for paper
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. game — a match
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cold — an illness
  23. craft — boats
  24. game — wild animals

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