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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: court · clip · hide · game · current · straw · trunk · pop

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. court — of a king
  3. pop — music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pop — soda
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. game — a match
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. current — electric
  13. pop — to visit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. current — of water
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. court — for sport
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. current — happening now
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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