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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: straw · trunk · clip · deal · root · content · swing · craft

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. craft — boats
  3. swing — to play on
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. clip — to cut
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. swing — in golf
  14. root — of a word
  15. craft — a skill
  16. content — happy
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. deal — to handle
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. content — the amount
  24. clip — for paper

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