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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.

Make a worksheet

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: trunk · straw · leaves · clip · mine · pass · cap · game

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — for paper
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. clip — to cut
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cap — a lid
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. mine — for digging
  18. game — wild animals
  19. clip — a video
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. game — a match
  23. cap — of ice
  24. game — a kind of play

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