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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 120 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: can · leaves · clip · staff · cap · land · trunk · chest

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — of ice
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — for paper
  6. can — a tin
  7. staff — employees
  8. land — a country
  9. cap — a hat
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. can — a tin
  13. cap — a lid
  14. clip — to cut
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. staff — a stick
  19. land — to come down
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chest — a box

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