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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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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: hand · rest · chip · ground · trunk · clip · staff · wind

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. chip — for betting
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — help
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ground — the earth
  20. staff — a stick
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chip — to eat
  24. rest — a break

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