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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: land · mug · saw · lash · trunk · clip · racket · bulb

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — a country
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. saw — the tool
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. land — ground
  9. mug — a face
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mug — a cup
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mug — to rob
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. land — to come down
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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