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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: clip · wake · chip · track · bat · firm · trunk · ground

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. firm — a company
  4. wake — a trail
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. firm — steady
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chip — for betting
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. firm — decided
  16. track — a path
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. ground — a position
  22. track — a song
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chip — to eat

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