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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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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: fall · chest · foot · clip · trunk · capital · track · date

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. fall — the season
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chest — a box
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. track — a song
  12. clip — a video
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — the fruit
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chest — of your body
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — for paper
  24. date — on the calendar

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