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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: racket · bulb · march · trunk · clip · wound · safe · mate

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. wound — an injury
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. march — music
  15. bulb — for light
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bulb — for light
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wound — an injury
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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