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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: season · bore · clip · hand · game · dip · can · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. clip — a video
  6. season — of the year
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. hand — help
  9. bore — to drill
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. can — a tin
  14. hand — in cards
  15. clip — to cut
  16. season — in sport
  17. can — a tin
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bore — to tire
  23. game — a match
  24. dip — to sink

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