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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: clip · cap · wax · court · trunk · bark · row · rush

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. row — a line
  3. cap — a lid
  4. row — to paddle
  5. court — of a king
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cap — a hat
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bark — to shout
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. court — of law
  12. cap — of ice
  13. court — for sport
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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