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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — child
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rule — government
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — a lid
  18. trunk — of a tree

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