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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: snap · kick · bound · trunk · tube · clip · spell · chip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spell — magic
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — for betting
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bound — tied together
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — obliged
  12. clip — a video
  13. tube — a container
  14. kick — in football
  15. spell — letters
  16. bound — certain
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. tube — in a tire

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