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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. band — a ring
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bark — to shout
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. band — a music group
  24. ground — a position

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