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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. spring — of water
  15. last — to go on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. spring — the season
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pound — a weight
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rest — what's left
  23. last — final
  24. dip — a sauce

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