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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 120 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: trunk · stick · clip · present · swing · race · snap · hide

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. snap — to click
  4. present — there
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. swing — to play on
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. swing — music
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. race — the arms race
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. present — the time now
  23. swing — in golf
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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