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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: date · trunk · board · cell · row · leaves · drill · clip

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. drill — a practice
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. board — a committee
  10. clip — to cut
  11. drill — army training
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. drill — the tool
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — to paddle
  18. board — to get on
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cell — in biology
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cell — a phone
  24. row — a line

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