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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.

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: chest · cabinet · clip · prune · tube · trunk · wound · court

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. chest — of your body
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tube — the underground
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chest — a box
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — a container
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — a video
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

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