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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: kid · trunk · clip · wake · suit · foot · row · saw

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. foot — a measure
  7. suit — in cards
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. kid — child
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. saw — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. suit — to fit
  22. suit — clothes
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kid — to tease

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