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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: can · trunk · cap · game · kid · clip · ball · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cap — a hat
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. clip — a video
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — to cut
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. can — a tin
  15. clip — for paper
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — to tease
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. ball — a dance
  22. lean — thin
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. ball — a great time

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