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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 124 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pound — a weight
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pound — to hit hard

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