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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. 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. rash — a series
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. ground — crushed
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. dip — to sink
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — the month
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. ground — a position
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — hasty
  14. march — music
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. ground — the earth
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. scale — in music
  22. lean — thin
  23. pound — a weight
  24. 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