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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: wind · pit · clip · rock · board · dip · trunk · bark

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rock — music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pit — a hole
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. board — a committee
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. clip — to cut
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. board — to get on
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. clip — a video
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pit — in a race

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