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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 116 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: racket · trunk · march · rule · swing · clip · pop · cap

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pop — to visit
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. march — the month
  11. rule — a law
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — a video
  18. march — music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. rule — government
  24. cap — a lid

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