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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 120 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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. last — final
  9. cue — for pool
  10. spell — letters
  11. cue — a hint
  12. last — to go on
  13. spell — magic
  14. object — a thing
  15. scale — in music
  16. cue — a signal
  17. pound — a weight
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. last — finally
  21. object — to protest
  22. scale — size or range
  23. spell — a short time
  24. object — an aim

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