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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bulb — for light
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bulb — for light
  9. file — a document
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. tear — to rip
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pound — a weight
  23. tear — from crying
  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