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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: roll · trunk · jam · date · ground · fall · stand · clip

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. clip — for paper
  3. roll — a cake
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. date — the fruit
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. roll — a list
  10. fall — to drop
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. ground — a position
  14. clip — a video
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stand — to bear
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. fall — the season
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. date — on the calendar

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