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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 120 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: trunk · pit · mate · plane · chest · fork · clip · kick

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. clip — a video
  4. chest — a box
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. kick — in football
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mate — to breed
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. chest — of your body
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — in a race
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. plane — a tool
  22. pit — a hole
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. clip — to cut

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