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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: hand · wound · clip · wave · key · squash · trunk · track

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — a path
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. hand — help
  10. track — a song
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. key — the most important part
  13. track — to keep track
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. key — for a lock
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. clip — to cut
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — in cards
  24. key — in music

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