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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: roll · clip · wake · sharp · trunk · straw · foot · rest

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. foot — a measure
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wake — a trail
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rest — what's left
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. rest — what's left
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. roll — a cake
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. rest — a break
  24. roll — a list

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