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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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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 · roll · chest · cap · squash · stick · clip · key

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cap — a lid
  6. chest — a box
  7. cap — of ice
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. key — the most important part
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. roll — a cake
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. key — in music
  24. squash — to crush

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