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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: clip · lean · pit · wake · row · race · rule · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. clip — to cut
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — a video
  14. rule — government
  15. race — the arms race
  16. clip — for paper
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pit — in a race
  19. race — a contest
  20. rule — a law
  21. race — humankind
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. trunk — of a tree

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