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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hand — help
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. last — to go on
  7. pound — a weight
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. fine — all right
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. tube — the underground
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fine — high quality
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hand — in cards
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. last — final

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