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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: trunk · pop · bowl · last · clip · stick · jam · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. season — of the year
  7. pop — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. pop — soda
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. last — final
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. last — finally
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pop — to visit
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — to go on
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. season — in sport

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