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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — a weight
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cap — a lid
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cap — a hat
  15. kid — child
  16. clip — for paper
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. clip — a video
  19. cap — of ice
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stand — to bear
  24. key — in music

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