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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 · hand · board · bat · dip · rest · trunk · bound

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rest — a break
  7. hand — in cards
  8. board — to get on
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. hand — help
  11. board — a committee
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bound — obliged

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