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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. kid — to tease
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. track — a path
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cell — in biology
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. track — a song
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. stand — to bear
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. current — of water
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pound — a weight
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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