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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: clip · drill · wound · trunk · bass · wave · track · pitcher

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. track — a song
  5. clip — for paper
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bass — low music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bass — the fish
  12. clip — to cut
  13. track — a path
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. clip — a video
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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