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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. branch — a division
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. spell — letters
  11. kick — in football
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spell — magic
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spell — a short time

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