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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: sharp · chair · wind · rock · squash · clip · race · trunk

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rock — a stone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — a video
  10. race — humankind
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. clip — for paper
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rock — music
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. sharp — clever
  23. race — a contest
  24. trunk — of a tree

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