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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: trunk · wind · racket · calf · rush · suit · cold · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rush — hurry
  9. suit — clothes
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wind — moving air
  22. suit — to fit
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. rush — a thrill

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