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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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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: straw · clip · trunk · fall · net · foot · mate · branch

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mate — a partner
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mate — a friend
  10. net — after costs
  11. fall — to drop
  12. net — for catching
  13. fall — the season
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. net — in sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. branch — a division
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. foot — a measure
  24. mate — to breed

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