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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: court · wind · date · leaves · clip · trunk · rock · toast

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. date — the fruit
  3. rock — a stone
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. court — of a king
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. clip — for paper
  16. toast — bread
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law
  19. clip — to cut
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. court — for sport
  23. rock — music
  24. clip — a video

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